Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Blood. Screams. Knives screech against each other as sounds of flesh tearing fill the air. You should help someone. You’re medically trained for a reason for fuck’s sake, and there’s injured people surrounding you everywhere you turn - and yet you’re stuck in place, staring straight at the scene directly before your eyes. Your older brother Sebastian - the one who’s cared for you and raised you in the years since your parents died - lying face down on the floor in a pool of his own blood. You can’t move, can’t breathe. You should check his pulse, stop the bleeding, anything - but there’s no point; you already know he’s gone. Fear and grief swarms you at a rapid pace. It’s too much - you turn to run, but as you do, you catch a glimpse of the man who just shattered your world all over again. A weird ass jumper, dark hair, wide, pale eyes-

You jolt awake with a trembling gasp, sweating and panting. You bring a hand to your chest and will your heart to settle, taking a few minutes to calm your breathing before pulling yourself out of bed. Blue light creeps through the window as the sun breaches the horizon. You dress slowly, still recovering from the horrific memory that’s plagued your sleep incessantly since the incident 3 years ago. The pale eyes and jet black hair of your brother’s killer have haunted you even after you were freed from the Underground three months later. ‘Your medicinal skills will be of great use to us should you choose to join us’ they said, but what great Underground doctor lets her own brother die in front of her eyes due to pure fear?

You trudge down the stairs and walk into the dining hall, scanning the room for your two best friends.

“WREN!! OVER HERE”

You turn to find Petra and Hange waving you over to a table in the corner of the room with too much energy for 5 in the morning. You make a quick detour to grab some toast and a cup of tea before heading over to join your two best friends.

“Wren!! We’ve been waiting forever, sleepyhead!” Hange says as you plop into the seat opposite her and beside Petra and bring your tea to your lips. The sweet, warm liquid fills your mouth and instantly soothes your nerves.

“Seriously Wren, you’ve never been a morning person have you?” Petra teases. You grumble in response, but a smile tugs on your lips despite yourself.

You’ve known Petra for 3 years now. On your first day in the cadet corps, you were assigned a room with the bubbly redhead and have been joined at the hip ever since. She helped you through the darkest times where memories of your brother and everything you suffered in the months between the incident and the cadets haunted your mind ceaselessly. She saved your life, really, and you’re forever grateful and indebted to her for it.

When graduation came around, you scored number 2 among your class, and Petra at number 3, but each passed up the so called ‘brilliant opportunity’ to join the Military Police - instead opting to join humanity’s bravest in the Survey Corps and aid humanity’s victory.

Your time in the Underground soured you to every Military Police member, and even entertaining the thought of joining their ranks left a bad taste in your mouth, which worked out well seeing as joining the Survey Corps was part of the deal you agreed to in order to leave the Underground. Now, you and Petra are entering your 6th month as part of the Survey Corps, and have both proven yourselves to be excellent soldiers, with your titan kill count being 23 and Petra’s close behind at 18 both at only 24 years old. You’ve always been placed in the same squad and have trained together daily since the cadet corps, making you a fairly formidable duo on expeditions, and putting you on the radars of all the best squad leaders.

You, Petra and Hange chat amicably for a few minutes before Hange says something that jolts your heart in fear.

“By the way, you two need to head down to Commander Erwin’s office as soon as you’ve finished your breakfast.”

You and Petra exchange a nervous glance.

“Have we done something wrong?? What’s it about?” You ask Hange, mind racing, who simply shrugs and refuses to offer any more information.

-

You’re walking down the hall with Petra, both going over your recent actions during training and expeditions to see if you’ve done anything notable to the Commander. After both coming up empty handed, you finish the walk to Commander Erwin’s door in silence. You knock on the heavy wood door, pushing it open it after hearing his signal, and stepping inside with Petra.

“Good morning soldiers” he says.

You and Petra salute him. “Good morning, sir!”

Erwin’s lips turn up into a slight smile as he nods his head and leans back in his chair. “At ease. You’re Petra Ral and Wrenley Mukrid, correct?”

“Yes, sir” you say in unison, dropping your fists.

“I’m sure you’re both wondering why you’ve been summoned here, but rest assured you have done nothing wrong. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

You breathe a sigh of relief. The Commander continues.

“I trust you are both aware of the new Special Operations Squad being formed under the leadership of Captain Levi, yes?”

You both nod, suddenly sensing the direction this conversation is heading in.

“Due to the exemplary results you have shown during expeditions and training, you both have been specially requested by the Captain to join his new squad and fight amongst the very best of the Survey Corps.”

Erwin continues his speech, but you block him out, pure ecstasy overtaking your senses. The Special Operations Squad, aka the Levi Squad, is exactly how the commander put it - the best of the best that the Survey Corps has to offer, and you and Petra have been requested by name by Captain Levi, Humanity’s Strongest Soldier. A surprisingly short, closed off man who you’ve only ever seen speak limited words to Hange and Erwin. However, his height and antisocial tendencies aside, his titan kill count of 67 at only 26 throughout his short 3 years in the Survey Corps leaves little room to doubt that he doesn’t deserve the respect he receives.

Erwin’s voice filters back in as he finishes talking. “You will be leaving the barracks and riding out to move into separate training and accommodation grounds alongside your new squad tomorrow at 5. I expect you both to give this new position your all and continue to dedicate your hearts for humanity - and Wrenley, you will also be serving as a personal medic for the members of the Squad should anyone get injured at any point during training or expeditions. Any questions?”

You both salute. “No, sir!”

“In that case, you are dismissed. Pack up your belongings after dinner is over this evening.”

You and Petra walk out of the office stunned. You walk down the hall and outside towards the odm training grounds before turning to each other and shrieking in delight.

“We did it!! We were specifically requested to join the strongest team in the military!! US!!” Petra squeals, and you match her energy by jumping on her with a hug.

As you give your all to your training, your once dark future continues to light up with a new hope; a new purpose in life.

Chapter Text

You pry your eyes open at 4am and pull yourself from your bed, resisting the urge to curl back up under the covers and never leave. You go to the bathroom, then head back to your room and pull on your uniform before checking you’ve packed everything you’ll need to live with your new squad. You had said bye to Hange yesterday after training, but you were still upset that you’d be separated for the foreseeable future.

You leave your bag in your room and creep down the stairs into the dining hall. With it being so early, no breakfast is being served, so you resolve to enjoy a cup of tea in the quiet early morning. However, to your surprise, you find another soldier there with a seemingly similar plan. His jet black hair shines in the early morning sun as he faces the counter and finishes preparing his tea. You approach quietly and grab a mug, before clearing your throat.

“Excuse me, can I just grab a tea bag and some hot water?” You almost whisper, not wanting to disturb the tranquil atmosphere. The man turns to you and your breath catches in your throat.

You’re faced with easily the most handsome man you’ve ever seen. A sharp jawline, a weirdly attractive short height that’s only about an inch taller than you, full pink lips and breathtaking grey eyes. You’re sure you’ve seen those eyes somewhere before. Where was it…?

You snap out of your trance as the man steps to the side and allows you access to the tea and water. You prepare your cup and dump some sugar in before stirring and taking a sip, allowing the heat to wash out the confusion tugging your mind as you try to recall where you know those eyes from. As the two of you stand silently drinking your tea, realisation dawns on you.

Dark hair. Pale eyes. Short yet intimidating. Humanity’s Strongest Soldier. Captain Levi. Captain of the Special Operations Squad. Your new Captain.

Shit.

Not only did it take you this long to realise who this man was, you’re also one hundred percent sure he caught you staring at his face earlier. You steel your expression and brave a glance in his direction, completely taken aback when you notice his eyes already on you, filtering through your features with a furrowed brow.

“Uh, everything alright?” You say, unsure of whether he knows who you are or is trying to place your features the way you did with him.

He doesn’t respond, instead snapping his gaze off you and finishing the last of his tea and walking out the room with a ‘tch’ sound, leaving you standing in a pool of your own nerves and confusion. You shake your head and will your mind to focus. You may have made an awkward first impression on your new captain, but you can’t let that distract you from proving that you deserve the position you’ve gained in the Squad. You finish your tea and grab your things from your room before heading into the stables to tend to your horse before you all set off.

When you enter the stables, your gaze instantly lands on your best friend and some of your nerves dissipate instantly.

“Petra!” You call and her head whips to face you, her own features showing off her nerves and excitement.

“Wren!! You’re finally here!” She squeals before running over to hug you. You return the gesture before turning to your horse.

“So, how’re you feeling? Excited?” Petra asks, her eyes wide with enthusiasm.

“Very, but I’m also terrified” you reply honestly, to which Petra agrees.

“Oh! You need to meet everyone! Guys, this is Wrenley Mukrid. Wren, this is Gunther Schultz” she points to a brown haired man with kind eyes “Eld Gin” she points to a tall, blond man with his hair tied back. He offers you a small smile, which you return. “And that’s Oluo Bozado” she says, pointing finally at a man with dusty brown hair and an arrogant smirk. You nod in his direction before speaking for yourself.

“Nice to meet you all, you can call me Wren”

A chorus of ‘nice to meet you’s follows before the stable door swings open and silence ensues. Your new captain walks in, causing you and your comrades to form a line and salute him.

“Good morning soldiers.” he speaks, his deep voice stirring something in your brain. You will your heart to settle as he continues. “As I’m sure you’re already aware, my name is Captain Levi, and I am the captain of the new Special Operations Squad that you are all here today to join. I expect maximum effort and results from each and every one of you at all times. Do not expect leniency for mediocrity. Is this clear?”

“Yes, sir!” You all shout. Levi surveys all your expressions, his gaze lingering on your face a little longer than the others. You brush it off and he nods before turning to saddle his horse. Your fists drop as you all mirror his actions, before pulling the horses from the stable and mounting. The sun creeps higher in the sky, basking you all in a warm morning glow, the slight breeze rustling the trees and creating a pleasant atmosphere. Your captain takes the front of the group before turning to address you again.

“We have a two hour ride to the castle. When we get there, you’ll all be assigned rooms and cleaning duties to be taken care of immediately. Clear?”

“Yes sir”

He nods again. His eyes briefly meet yours before he swiftly runs back around and sets off. You all follow behind him, wind whipping through your hair as you watch the scenery roll past.

-

Levi wasn’t joking about cleaning immediately. Not that he seems the type to joke about anything, really. When you got to the castle, he assigned rooms before moving straight to cleaning roles, and ordered that everything in the house be absolutely spotless. That’s how you ended up with a cloth and a duster, wiping down every square inch of the castle until not a speck of dust remained. Once you were satisfied, you moved to tackle your new room, which has a wardrobe, a small desk in the corner, a single bed pressed against the left wall and a small window above it.

You start by stripping the sheets from the bed and taking them down to the well to be washed. Once you hang them up to dry in the sun, you head back to the room and go around it, wiping down the bed frame, wardrobe, and desk, before polishing the glass on the window and sweeping the floor. An hour later, you’re satisfied, and so collect your sheets and make your bed, then clean off all the door handles that you missed on your first run through the house.

You head back to your room and begin to unpack your belongings. You lay down all your medicines and equipment on your desk to organise later, opting to deal with your clothes first. As you fold each garment and place them in their respective drawers and hangers, someone clears their throat behind you.

You jump, spinning round to see your captain standing in your doorway, and are suddenly very aware of the bra you’re holding. You try not to overreact, instead addressing Levi directly.

“Is there a problem, sir?”

His eyes flick up to yours and his brow furrows slightly as your eyes meet. Your face burns as he refocuses and quickly shifts his gaze to the rest of the room before you have a chance to entertain the nagging thoughts that he’s more familiar than you realise.

“I’m here to check your cleaning. I assume you’ve finished?”

“Yes sir.”

He nods wordlessly, before slowly making his way across the room, checking every surface, nodding slightly when he comes up with no lingering dust.

“Continue unpacking. Dinner is at 7. I expect you showered beforehand.”

“Yes sir”

He holds your stare for a few more seconds before leaving to check Petra’s room. You finish unpacking and head to the bathroom to shower.

Once you finish, you pat your hair down with a towel to stop it dripping and run a comb through it before pulling on a long sleeved top and tracksuits, then stepping out the bathroom, only to bump into your captain, towel slung over his shoulder as he waits for the shower. You both freeze, his eyes sifting through your shocked features. His brow furrows as you take in his features. He really is quite handsome, but your eyes always flick back to those grey eyes of his, shining in forgotten familiarity…

“Are you gonna stand there all day or let me shower?” Levi deadpans with a slightly raised brow, interrupting your racing thoughts. You mutter a quick apology before rushing round the corner to your room, cheeks burning in embarrassment. You finish drying off your hair and leave it down for dinner. When you head down, you meet up with Petra and sit next to her at the table. Levi arrives and you all start to eat before he addresses the group, his low voice echoing through the empty, now immaculate room.

“Tomorrow we start our training together. I expect everyone to have completed a 5 mile run by 7am and to record their times in the logbook on the counter. I then need you all showered and ready to ride out for odm training by 7:30. After that, we’ll be rotating partners for sparring sessions before riding back. Wren, you’re on dinner duty for tomorrow. I expect you to shower first and have it ready as soon as everyone is done. Any questions?”

“No sir” you all chorus. You silently thank the Walls that you were able to pick up basic cooking skills in the Underground. That is, before your brother was killed and you were left alone, poor and defenceless.

You push the dark memories from your mind as you stand from the dinner table and Eld moves to clear up. You and Petra climb the stairs and head into her room.

“I am so glad our rooms are next to each other” Petra sighs as she flops onto her bed.

“Me too” you say, slumping down at her desk.

“You know, I never expected the Captain to be such a clean freak” you suddenly speak, and Petra giggles.

“I know. It was totally a shock, but it doesn’t change how impressive he is. Plus, it’s kinda nice getting to enjoy such a clean house, even if it was a pain to get here. Can you believe he made me redo my room three times before he was happy?” As Petra starts to ramble about everything that Levi pointed out during cleaning, you try to think of any reason that he could hate dirty places so much. Maybe that’s just how he’s always been.

“I can’t wait to start training tomorrow. I’m so excited to work amongst the very best in the Survey Corps” Petra grins, and you nod enthusiastically.

You and Petra chat for a while more before you head to your room. The exhaustion of cleaning all day catches up to you quickly, and you easily drift to sleep.

-

You wake at 5 the next morning for your run. After going to the bathroom and getting dressed, you head outside into the crisp morning air. The sun breaches the horizon as birds begin to chirp, and you take a deep inhale, savouring the way the cold air fills your lungs. You head around the building to the start of the running track. As you stretch your legs, you spot Levi finishing his run and heading inside. He turns towards you and offers a nod in greeting, which you return before starting your run.

You’ve always favoured cardio over weights, and you run the five miles easily in 29 minutes. You record your time in the logbook underneath Levi’s, noting that his is only 1 minute lower. If you train enough, you can surpass him. Motivation courses through your body as you head up the stairs and grab your towel and training clothes before quietly walking to the bathroom, door swinging open in your face to reveal your captain, fresh out the shower, hair still damp, black long sleeved shirt clinging perfectly to his biceps and each muscle on his torso. You shoot your gaze back to his face, hoping he didn’t notice your ogling, but luck has never been in your side as you meet his unimpressed eyes, brow slightly raised in confusion. You clear your throat to speak.

“Good morning, sir.”

“Have you already finished your 5 miles?” Levi questions sceptically.

“Yes, sir. My time is recorded in the logbook”

You think you see a flash of approval in his gaze before it disappears as if it was never there.

“Good. Be down in the next hour if you want breakfast.”

“Sir.”

You slip past him and head to shower. As you emerge, you see Petra waiting outside, basked in sweat from her run.

“Hey, since when are you an early bird?” Petra teases when she sees you.

“You know how much I love running, Petra”

“Of course, I saw your time in the logbook too. How you ran that distance in less than thirty minutes is a mystery to me. I just about scraped 37!”

“I’ve always enjoyed cardio more than anything, especially since the cadets”

“I know girl. Now let me through so we can get some food before odm training. We’ll need our energy”

You nod in response, heading to your room whilst Petra goes to shower. You put your stuff away and walk down the stairs for breakfast. You find Levi sat at the table with a cup of tea in his hand. You walk to the counter and make yourself one before grabbing a slice of toast and moving to sit at the table, leaving a space between you and Levi. You eat and drink in silence, finishing your toast and sipping your tea before your gaze drifts to Levi. Your eye catches on his hand, and you notice how he holds his teacup by the rim. As you ponder a possible story behind his peculiar grip, you catch his eyes on your face again. You both hold the stare for a few seconds, before you hear Petra enter the room.

“Good morning Captain.” She says. Levi mutters a good morning in response, eyes still on you. You break eye contact first, instead turning to your friend as she grabs some toast and sits beside you. You chat about nothing in particular as the guys filter in, having finished their runs and signed the logbook. Petra finishes her food as you drink the last of your tea. You check the time and see that it’s 7am. You both clear up and head to the gear shed to strap on your odm. Once that’s done, you head down to the stables to tend to your horses. Levi and the others make their way in after you, and you’re all set by 7:30. Right on time.

“Alright.” Levi says, turning to face you. “We have a ten minute ride to our new training grounds. I’ll brief you on our day once we arrive. Move out!”

With that, you’re off, galloping through the morning air once more. Nothing brings you peace like riding through open fields with endless expanses of blue sky stretching over your head.

You arrive at the training ground and dismount your horses before turning to face your captain.

“Alright. Today I’ll be assessing your speed, agility and reaction time when using odm gear. We’ll be running with prop titans for the next two hours. 20 titans a circuit, one at a time. Questions?”

When no one answers, Levi nods.

“Wren. You’re up first. Then Petra, Eld, Oluo, Gunther. Let’s go”

“Yes sir!”

You step to the edge of the forest and wait for Levi’s signal. When he nods, you finger your triggers and shoot off into the trees. Muscle memory takes over as you weave through the trees, eyes scanning for prop titans. When you find one, you boost through the air and latch to a tree, before spinning at remarkable speed towards the titan, slicing its nape with ease before turning and setting off back into the forest.

You finish the drill in 6 minutes and land on the edge of the forest, breathing heavily. You straighten and look at Levi for feedback.

“Good time. Your technique is sharp, but be wary of your gas usage. Unnecessary movements waste resources, and there’s not always means to refill out in the field. It could cost you yours or your comrades’ lives.”

You nod, committing the words to memory as Petra moves to begin her training.

“Wren.”

You turn towards Levi’s voice, slightly startled.

“Yes sir?”

“Remove your gear. I want you doing push ups until Petra finishes her training, then sit ups during Eld’s. If you drop or falter at any point, you are to hold plank for Oluo’s session. Clear?”

“Yes sir” you mutter, internally crying as you begin your push ups. You manage 217 in the 9 minutes it takes Petra to finish her training, shifting to do sit ups as Eld sets off for his turn. After 203 sit ups, you stay on the ground for a second, wincing at the pain in your abdomen as you push yourself off the ground and look towards your captain, who gives Oluo his signal before turning to you.

“Good. Strap your gear back on and wait. Petra, do as Wren just did.”

“Yes sir!” Petra says, determined, before swiftly removing her gear. You take your time putting yours back on, meticulously tracing every strap and restocking your blades. Once you finish, Oluo is emerging from the forest with an 8 minute time. He moves to start his push ups and Petra switches to sit ups as Gunther zips into the forest. You stand beside them and wait for Gunther. Once he emerges, Levi offers general feedback before telling you all to line up by the forest edge for your next exercise.

-

After another two hours on odm, you’re exhausted and thanking the walls that Levi has dismissed you all for a short break before sparring. You sit on the picnic benches not far from the forest edge and chat with Petra.

“I’m so exhausted. The Captain’s training is more brutal than I imagined” Petra groans as she stretches her legs in front of her.

“I know, but it really makes me feel like I’m being productive. Plus the way he offers us feedback during the exercise as well as afterwards is super helpful.” You respond, enjoying the late morning breeze.

“True. I’m a bit nervous for sparring though. Captain says we’ll be rotating through partners including him, and there’s no way I can last even 10 seconds against him.” She sighs, glancing towards Levi. You follow her gaze, surprised to find his facing in your direction yet again.

“You know, he’s been staring at you a ton since we left Trost.” Petra says, nudging you with her elbow.

“Shut up, he has not!” You defend, cheeks pink.

“He totally has! Do you think he likes you?”

“Absolutely not. Even if he somehow did, it wouldn’t matter since I don’t like him”

“Enough chat. Everyone up!” Levis voice cuts through your conversation, saving you from Petra’s interrogation. Levi liking you is ridiculous, and you definitely don’t like him. You respect him as a comrade and nothing more. Right?

“Pairs will be as follows - Gunther, Oluo. Petra, Eld. Wren, me. We rotate after every fight is finished.”

Your eyes widen as you realise you’ll fight Levi first, but you school your expression and face him, assuming fighting stance. He mirrors your stance and gives the signal for everyone to begin, and you launch at him. Your fight lasts surprisingly long - you figured you’d be pinned within 20 seconds, yet you last over two minutes before your face ends up pressed into the ground.

You’re suddenly thankful for all those fight lessons your brother gave you Underground. You never saw the point of them back then, and they didn’t do much for you after he died, but it’s nice to see them finally pay off.

Levi offers you a hand and you accept, pulling yourself off the ground. You hold his gaze for a few seconds, hands still connected, noting the impressed arch in his brow and slight warmth in his usually cold stare, before realising that everyone else is finished and watching you two. You drop his hand quickly and clear your throat before speaking up.

“What are the next pairings, sir?”

Levi refocuses, turning away from you. You continue the training in a slightly preoccupied trance, but still pin all your opponents. Once all the pairs have rotated, Levi offers everyone feedback before you mount your horses and ride back to the castle.

“Right. Wren, you’re on dinner duty. Go shower and get it started. The rest of you, do something productive until your turn to shower. Dismissed!”

“Sir!”

You salute him before heading up to shower. Washing off the sweat from training feels incredible. The water revitalises you, and you step out of the bathroom with much more energy You walk down to the kitchen and prepare some pasta with a tomato sauce recipe you took from your mother. The nostalgic smell brings back fond memories, and you smile to yourself as you stir the pot.

“Why’re you grinning at the food? Have you poisoned it or something?” You jump and turn towards the voice, of course finding Levi stood with a disturbed expression on his face, brow cocked and eyes wide.

“It’s a recipe my mother used to make. The smell brought back fond memories. That’s all” you say quickly, trying to clear up any misunderstandings effectively. Levi nods and sits at the head of the table. You remain in awkward silence for a few minutes before the others come down and sit at the table. You serve everyone’s plates before sitting down yourself.

“Wren this is really good, thank you” Eld says with a smile, which you return.

“Of course, glad you like it”

“Seriously Wren, since when can you cook?” Petra teases with a giggle. You roll your eyes playfully.

“Since always.”

You all chat and laugh as you eat, enjoying each other’s company, before Levi’s voice cuts in.

“Right.” He says, and silence falls immediately. “Our expedition is in one week. I want everyone laser focused on odm precision and efficiency during training using the feedback from today. We’ll also be switching up our exercises during the day to help keep everyone alert and aid our decision making skills. I want another 5 miles tomorrow morning and everyone ready to ride out by 7. Clear?”

“Yes sir”

Once everyone finishes, you grab all their plates and cups and take them over to the sink to wash up. When you’re finished, you head straight to bed and fall sleep immediately. Unfortunately, your sleep isn’t as peaceful as last night, and your trauma reawakens to haunt you again.

Chapter Text

“Cmon, bitch. Give me what I want already. You know you want it too you fucking slut.” He grabs your wrists and forces them together before pinning them above your head. You writhe under him, kicking and thrashing in desperate attempts to escape.

“Get the fuck off me! I don’t want it! You know what I offer!”

“Shut up and take it anyways then, bitch.” He seethes with a disgusting grin, his voice low and menacing. You feel him shift his grip to grab your skirt hem, and your adrenaline spikes. You free one hand from his grip and reach to your boot, grabbing your emergency knife. You never thought you’d actually have to use it, but you’re grateful that you had the foresight to carry it in case. You whip out the blade and slash it in front of you desperately. You feel his body go limp as you scramble up off the floor and put distance between you two. Only then do you look at him, and you gasp as you see the pool of blood flowing out from his neck. His face is pressed into the ground, and when you shift his head, his eyes are wide and lifeless. You look down at your trembling hands, at the blood coating them, and you breathing goes ragged and the room spins and-

You jolt awake, gasping for air that your lungs can’t seem to take in. Tears stream down your face and your hands tremble in fear. You will your breathing to steady, but nothing works. You begin to hyperventilate as you fall further into your panic attack. You don’t hear whoever is speaking to you from outside your door, or when they push it open and rush towards you.

You feel hands grab your shoulders and a man’s voice fills your ears, although you can’t discern what’s being said, and your breath seizes again in your throat as your panic spikes. You fight the hands off, screaming.

“No! I said no! Please, please stop it! Don’t do this!!” You cry out, eyes screwed shut as you back away until you feel the wall. You don’t see his wide, concerned eyes, or the way his hands tremble as they move to gently take yours. The touch makes you gasp in fear until you hear a familiar voice filtering through the fear clouding your senses.

“Wren, it’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you. It’s just me. You’re okay. Breathe in for me. Do as I am, okay? Deep breath in then out”

You hear a deep inhale, and feel the hands around yours squeeze gently, prompting you to follow. You take a shaky inhale, managing to pull a little oxygen into your lungs.

“Good” the deep voice rumbles, “now let’s do it again”

You follow his lead again, this time managing a deeper breath. You continue to breathe with the man until your heart slows and the panic fully dissipates. You take a final shaky breath, before slowly opening your eyes. Once your vision focuses, your eyes double in size and your breath hitches.

“Captain Levi. Fuck. Sorry sir I-“

“You don’t have to apologise. Are you okay?”

No.

“Yeah, I’m okay now. Thank you” he nods before squeezing your hands again and pushing to his feet. “I may not be the one you want to talk to, but know I’m here if you do” he says, head facing the opposite direction and ears slightly pink.

“Thank you, sir.” He nods before moving towards your door and stepping out. You take one last deep breath, before climbing out of bed and heading to the bathroom. You’re much later for your run than you’d like, so you’re quick to get ready and head out to the track, where you spot the others heading in. You stretch your limbs out before setting out, using the leftover adrenaline from earlier to push yourself faster. You finish your run in 27 minutes and head in to log your time and shower. You quickly scan up over your comrades’ times, finding Levi’s time at the top - 27 minutes. You internally celebrate at being able to match him, then quickly scribble your time and head to shower. It’s already 6:45 by the time you emerge, so you rush to your room and finish getting dressed for the day, before heading straight to the stables to ride out for training, where everyone is already preparing. You head towards your horse, where you find Petra stood waiting, bickering playfully with Oluo. She stops and turns when she hears your approach.

“Wren! Where’ve you been? It’s so unlike you to wake up late for a run!!” She yells, before wrapping her arms around you. You return the gesture half-heartedly, your mind still slightly absent. Petra notices this, and pulls back to study your face.

“Everything okay? You seem a bit off. Did something happen??” She asks, concern fluttering through her eyes. You see Levi watching your interaction in your peripheral.

“Yeah, fine. I was just tired from training yesterday, I guess. Everything’s fine”, you lie with a fake smile. You see Levi’s brow raise as you hide the truth from your very best friend, but you ignore it. You’ll tell her later that your nightmares are back and leave it at that. You’ll tell don’t want to tell anyone about what you did in the Underground. It’s too humiliating. You saddle your horse and strap on your gear, before mounting and trotting out of the stables behind the others. You’re all briefly spoken to by Levi before riding to the same grounds as yesterday.

“Alright. Like I said, today is entirely odm focused. The drills we run today will be the same ones we run every day for the next 5 days.”

You salute him, before training begins for the day.

-

You’re exhausted.

An entire day of odm training is brutal. Not to mention the fact that Captain Levi is infamous for having training drills more vigorous than any other squad leader in the Survey Corps. Your entire body is sore and aching as you pull your horse back into the stables.

During training and when receiving your feedback, Levi let you know that you weren’t performing as usual. This isn’t surprising to you, and you’re determined to fix this. You refuse to let your past affect your future and performance any longer. You deserve the sport you have on this squad, and you want to prove it every day.

“I’m so tired. I can’t believe I have to cook as well!” Petra whines with a sigh. You walk side by side into the castle.

“This training routine is brutal, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it next week” you sigh, stretching your arms above your head as you head up the stairs.

“You’re right. Well, I’m off to shower so I can start on dinner. See you, Wren!!” She singsongs before heading to the bathroom. You wave to her before turning into your room and collapsing onto your bed.

-

You’re woken by loud banging on your door. You shoot up, eyes wide as you hear a voice outside the room.

“Wren, dinner’s nearly ready and you haven’t showered. Up and in the bathroom, now!” Levi yells. You jump to your feet and grab a towel, before flinging open your door, where you’re met with your Captain’s face, his brow cocked in annoyance.

“Apologies, sir. I fell asleep by mistake.” You mutter before attempting to slip past him, except he doesn’t move.

“I meant what I said. If you have a problem, speak to me or someone in the squad if you don’t feel comfortable. Things troubling your mind can affect your performance, and we can’t have anything distracting you on the expedition.” He says, his expression softening slightly.

You nod slowly, and Levi steps to the side to let you pass. You walk quickly to the bathroom and shut the door, leaning against it and taking a deep breath. You strip down and take a shower, before stepping out. You dry yourself off, mentally cursing yourself for forgetting to bring a change of clothes. You wrap the towel around your body and step out the bathroom. You turn the corner quickly, not wanting to be out without clothes for too long, but instead run straight into a hard surface. You step back, wincing at the pain in your forehead, and bring your hand up to soothe the spot, forgetting it was holding your towel in place, which drops to the floor around your feet. You open your eyes to pick it up, letting out a small yelp when you realise what - or rather, whom - you bumped in to.

Levi stands in front of you, arms crossed, eyes wide in shock, a red mark on his chin, likely from where your head smacked into him. You hold his stare for a moment, before remembering that you’re stood fully nude in front of your captain. Your face heats rapidly as you bend to pick up your towel and cover yourself. Levi clears his throat and averts his gaze quickly, his ears and cheeks pink. You rewrap your towel and clear your throat.

“Excuse me” you say quietly, making to step past him.

“Right” Levi says as he refocuses his gaze on you and steps to the side, allowing you to pass to your room. You quickly dart inside and slam the door, sliding down the back and grabbing your head in your hands.

“I can’t believe that happened.” You groan, clutching your hair. You push off the floor with a sigh, remembering that everyone is waiting for you for dinner. You quickly search your room for the first clothes you can find, ending up in a tight black strappy tank top and black joggers. You ignore how informal it is and rush out your room and down the stairs into the dining room, where Petra just sitting down after serving everyone’s food.

“About time, Wren! I was about to come looking for you.” She says and you take your seat to her left, in between her and Levi. You brave a glance in his direction, finding his gaze fixed on you. Your cheeks flush and you turn quickly, opting to look down at your plate instead.

“This looks great Petra, thanks.” You say before taking a bite.

“Of course!” She replies, starting in her own food.

The table shifts into friendly conversation. You talk and laugh with your comrades, appreciating how well you all get on after such a short time, when a deep voice cuts through the talk.

“Okay. As we’re all aware, our expedition is in 6 days, meaning we have 5 left to prepare. Today’s results were marginally better than yesterday, but I expect you all to take your feedback and put it to good use. I want no casualties or injuries next week, and I want all of your kill counts up. Am I clear??”

“Yes sir” you all say before standing from the table. Petra clears up and you both head up to her room together again. You chat for a bit before you decide to take some of Levi’s advice.

“Hey so uh, I need to talk to you a bit” you say shyly, eyes trained on the wall next to you.

“What’s up?” Petra asks, concern lacing her voice.

“Well… it’s about this morning. Why I was late down. My uh, nightmares are back again. About the time after the incident. I woke up in a panic attack and took a while to recover.” You mutter quietly, not wanting to go into detail about the dream. It’s not that you fear judgement from Petra, who’s always been so understanding, but that you don’t want to worry her or bring those memories back to the front of your mind.

“Oh Wren, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to help you” she says sympathetically, wrapping her eyes around you. You sink into her with a sigh, resting your head on her shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to go through a panic attack alone. I know you haven’t had to in years.”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t alone, actually.” You hesitate before you say your next words. “The captain was there. He helped calm me down.”

“WHAT!!” She shrieks, pushing you off and turning you to face her, her eyes wide in shock and excitement. “What on earth was the captain doing in your room?”

“It’s nothing like that!” You blush furiously, and Petra giggles at your expense. You sigh playfully before continuing, making a mental note to never tell her what happened in the evening. “It was getting really late and I hadn’t gone for my run yet, so he came to check what was holding me up, and found me in that state.” She hums thoughtfully, eyes searching yours. “What?” You ask, feeling her gaze burning through yours.

“Nothing”, she says eventually, before switching the topic. You shake off the odd feeling in your chest and continue to talk with your best friend until it gets late and you leave her to sleep, heading back to your own room. You have another 7am ride out tomorrow, so you should probably try to sleep. You close your door and change your joggers out for shorts before slipping under the covers and closing your eyes. However, like you expected, sleep evades you, as it always tends to do after a nightmare.

After around an hour of fruitless attempts at sleep, you sit up and lean against your window, gazing out at the moon. Tears start to slip down your face, and it’s not long before they turn into full blown sobs. You try to stay quiet as the trauma overloads you, and you curl into yourself, your breath shuddering as you gasp for air between sobs. After a few minutes, you hear a soft knock at your door, startling you. You quickly wipe your eyes and take a deep breath, as if it will mask your tears.

“Come in” you say, just loud enough to hear outside. The door pushes open slowly, and you’re surprised to see Levi stood in the doorway, his expression soft and eyes concerned.

“Captain?” You say, suddenly hyperaware of your exposed legs.

“Are you alright?” He asks carefully.

“Yes, what makes you ask?” You say, as if evidence of your pain isn’t written across your face in the form of dried tears. To your surprise, he steps towards you and brings a hand up to your face, swiping away a stray tear with his thumb.

“You’re crying.” He says softly, eyes scanning your face.

“I’m fine” you lie, but more tears betray your facade. You move to wipe them away, and hear Levi walking to your side. He sits next to you on the bed, maintaining a considerable distance between you.

“I meant what I said earlier. I’m not the best at comfort but I’ll listen without judging if you need to talk.” He whispers, and you turn towards him, your heath hitching as you take in his features in the dim moonlight. He really is handsome. You take a deep breath and decide to tell him things you never intended to tell anyone again.

“I grew up in the Underground” you start, noticing the shift in his expression. “When I was 7, my parents both died from illness. My older brother raised me, despite only being 13 at the time. We were fine until I was 21. He had been involved with gangs since he was a teenager, but I never complained since the money kept me alive, and I was able to spend my time learning about medicine. One day, I heard shouts as I was out walking. I went towards the noise and saw a gang fight. Nothing unusual, but as I made to leave, I saw my brother, a knife being pulled from his chest, and him slumping to the ground. I couldn’t see who did it from where I was stood. I was frozen in fear, knowing I should do something to save him, but from where he was stabbed I knew he was dead already. It was another three months before Hange came and got me out of the Underground, and with my brother dead, the only way I could survive was-“

You stop abruptly, realising what you were about to admit. Levi senses your hesitancy and speaks up.

“You don’t have to continue.”

“Thank you.” You whisper, wiping your tears again. “Anyways, seeing my brother be killed and… the time afterwards tend to haunt me. They give me nightmares constantly, and sleeping after one can be tough, which is why I’m still up” Levi nods with a hum, not pressing for any further information, which you appreciate. “So, why are you up?” You ask, looking for a change of topic.

“I’ve never slept well. Even as a kid” he replies. You nod, and the two of you fall into a comfortable silence. Your eyelids start to grow heavy, and your body slumps as you fall asleep, your head falling into Levi’s lap. He stiffens beneath you, but makes no move to push you away, instead bringing a hand to stroke your hair from your face. He repeats the soothing motion, and you hum sleepily. You both stay like that for a while, Levi stroking your hair and face, before he eventually repositions you to lie under your covers and steps out the room, closing the door softly before letting out a sigh.

When you wake the next morning, you’re unaware of the way you fell asleep on your captain, and the effects it had on him.

-

Levi’s POV

What a fucking day.

He didn’t sleep more than two hours, although that’s nothing new for him. He went for his run the same time as usual, hoping he might see you out there too, but without luck. Instead, he went about his usual morning, noting that you still hadn’t emerged from your room when he went down for breakfast. Even his cup of tea couldn’t soothe the unease your lateness instilled in him, and so he went up to check on you. He knocked on your door and waited, but when he listened and was met with quick, panicked breathing instead of a response, he pushed open the door and rushed towards your hyperventilating figure.

“What happened?” He asked, placing his hands on your shoulders in an attempt to ground you, but that only seemed to make things worse, as your panic rose and you fought him off, screaming.

“No! I said no! Please, please stop it! Don’t do this!!” You cry out, pushing him away from you and scrambling back until you hit the wall, curling into yourself with your hands out in front of you, keeping him at a distance. His own panic starts to show and he begs his mind to find a way to help you from whatever is making you this terrified. He slowly moves to take your flailing hands in his own shaking ones, squeezing them gently when you don’t resist.

“Wren, it’s okay.” He says softly, not wanting to startle you again. “No one’s going to hurt you. It’s just me. You’re okay. Breathe in for me. Do as I am, okay? Deep breath in then out”

He inhales deeply, willing you to follow his lead, squeezing your hands again. When you do, slight relief washes over him.

“Good. Now let’s do it again” He takes another deep breath and you copy him. You both repeat this for a few minutes, him taking deep, even breaths and you copying him, until your own breathing evens out and you open your eyes  He sees the shock in your eyes when they focus on his face, whilst relief courses through his body.

“Captain Levi. Fuck. Sorry sir I-“

“You don’t have to apologise. Are you okay?” He asks, internally cursing himself for asking such a stupid question

“Yeah, I’m okay now.” He knows you’re lying.  “Thank you” he nods before squeezing your hands one last time and pushing to his feet. “I may not be the one you want to talk to, but know I’m here if you do” he says quietly, eyes refusing to meet your gaze.

“Thank you, sir.” He hears you say before nodding and leaving the room. He walks back downstairs to strap on his gear and tend to his horse, not caring that there’s still an hour before you’re all scheduled to ride out. He sees you heading for the track and watches as you complete your run in 27 minutes, just as he did. He chuckles softly to himself at your motivation before returning to his horse.

When he sees you enter the stables after everyone else, he watches the way you lie and act normal to your best friend with a cocked brow, but it’s not exactly his business. Maybe you’re just not the type to talk about your feelings or troubles, even if that’s not the impression he got from you and watching the way you and Petra interact.

-

As the day went on, he saw how you were distracted, and the way it impacted your performance during training. He told you this much, and you took it as well as he’d hoped, your resolve to be better showing. When you all got back to the castle and he noticed you hadn’t showered yet, he took it upon himself to fetch you.

“Wren, dinner’s nearly ready and you haven’t showered. Up and in the bathroom, now!” He called through the door, not wanting to seem overly soft. When you throw the door open, hurried and flustered, his heart jumps to his throat, but he quickly masks any reaction with a cocked brow.

“Apologies, sir. I fell asleep by mistake.” You mutter, tone slightly nervous, before trying to head straight to the bathroom. However, he stops you before you can get past him.

“I meant what I said. If you have a problem, speak to me or someone in the squad if you don’t feel comfortable. Things troubling your mind can affect your performance, and we can’t have anything distracting you on the expedition.” He says slowly, eyes searching yours, although he’s not sure what for.

You nod, and he lets you past to shower. He returns to his room for a short while, before leaving for dinner. Suddenly, someone crashes into him, banging her head on his chin. His eyes widen as you step back, wincing, and bring your hand to your head, causing the towel keeping you modest to drop, exposing your body to him. His eyes drop quickly over your figure before flicking back to your face, when you let out a yelp after noticing who he is. You both stare at each other for a moment, before you rush to grab your towel and he turns away, clearing his throat and cursing his mind for looking the way he did.

“Excuse me” you say quietly, and he looks back to see your towel covering your body again. You move to slip past him, and he steps off to the side, allowing you room to move.

“Right” he says. You rush into your room and shut the door, leaving him stood in the hallway. He pushes the image of your naked body out of his mind and composes himself before heading down to dinner. He maintains his usual stoic expression around his squad, but when you turn up in that fucking top, hair still slightly damp from the shower and flowing over your shoulders, his progress is ruined. He can’t take his eyes off you, no matter how much he wants to. He finally shifts his gaze when you catch him staring. The squad chats throughout dinner, before he stops the chat for a quick debrief from the day. You all clear out, and he heads to his room. He changes into sleep clothes and gets into bed.

-

He wakes an hour later, noticing his dry throat. He gets up and heads out the room for some water, but as he walks past your room, he hears your faint sobs. Concern washes over him once more, and he raps his knuckles softly against the door before he can stop himself. There’s a pause before you give him permission to enter. When he does, his heart breaks slightly at the pain in your expression.

“Captain?” You say, surprised to see him.

“Are you alright?” He asks carefully.

“Yes, what makes you ask?” You say, trying to gaslight yourself into believing he can’t see your tears. He walks towards you and brings his hand to your face, noting the hitch in your breath, and swipes away a tear from your cheek.

“You’re crying.” He says softly, concerning flashing through his eyes.

“I’m fine” you lie, but more tears fall, betraying you. He sighs and walks away from you slightly, moving to sit next to you on the bed, making sure to leave a good distance between you two.

“I meant what I said earlier.” He starts. “I’m not the best at comfort but I’ll listen without judging if you need to talk.” You look up at him, and he examines your features under the moon’s glow. You take a deep breath before speaking.

As you talk, he listens silently, allowing you to say what you want and not pushing for more. When you mention your brother, his eyes widen as something in his brain clicks. He looks at you again, and it finally makes sense. Those eyes. He can’t believe it.

He schools his expression before you finish; since you’re not aware of it, he’ll have to find a way to tell you. You deserve to know.

“You don’t have to continue.” He says after noticing your hesitancy to continue. He has a pretty good idea of what you were about to say, and the thought of what you seemingly went through makes him sick.

“Thank you.” You whisper, wiping your tears again. “Anyways, seeing my brother be killed and… the time afterwards tend to haunt me. They give me nightmares constantly, and sleeping after one can be tough, which is why I’m still up” He hums, not wanting to force you to divulge more information that you’re comfortable with. “So, why are you up?” You ask, looking for a change of topic. He can tell how hard it is for you to speak on this.

“I’ve never slept well. Even as a kid” he replies, keeping his response short. You nod, and the two of you fall into a comfortable silence. He hears your breathing even out before your head and chest falls into his lap. His eyes widen and his body tenses, but he soon eases into the touch, not wanting you to leave yet. He brings his hand to your face and strokes your hair away. You hum in sleepy appreciation, spurring him to continue the gesture. The two of you remain like that for a while, and he enjoys having you so close, knowing it can’t become a regular thing like he wishes. So, he moves you so you’re lying with the covers over you and leaves the room, heading straight back to his instead of getting the water he originally wanted. He sits on his bed with a sigh, his mind reeling.

He can’t believe it was you.

Chapter Text

Today’s the day. Your first expedition with your new squad - the 52nd expedition beyond the walls. You’re sat on your horse as the gate is opened, and you’ve never felt more prepared for an expedition in your life. Of course you’re still nervous, as no matter what training you do, these things will always be dangerous, even with the best in the Survey Corps, but you’re thankful for the captain’s thorough training regime, especially the last few days. Whilst things with Levi were a bit awkward due to the, uh, towel incident, you’re both professional soldiers and didn’t allow any lingering tension or discomfort to affect your training. It paid off too, and you intend to prove that fact during today’s expedition.

“SOLDIERS, MOVE OUT!” Erwin booms from the front of the formation, and you begin to move forwards on your horse, picking up speed once you’re through the gates of Trost District. You instantly focus, slipping into your element, eyes peeled for titans as you all fall into formation. You and your squad are stationed towards the right centre; you’re tucked in between them and another squad - Miche’s - due to having a wagon with you, since you’re a medic. Whilst the wagon slows you down, meaning you and your horse have to put more effort into riding to keep up with formation, it makes it significantly easier to carry your medical supplies, which makes you more mobile for sudden battle.

You’re riding through plain land. Lush green grass stretches beyond the horizon, and trees line your vision from the forest on your left. The sky stretches above your head, impossibly blue and beautiful. The beauty of the outside world always stuns you to silence. It’s better than you ever imagined back in the Underground.

The expedition progresses without major issue for you or your squadmates. Levi’s training really did pay off, as all of you are energised and stronger, each adding a few titans to your kill list. You’ve managed to kill 6 titans today - a new expedition record for yourself that you’re rather proud of. Killing titans is a bit of an easier task physically, thanks to your new training regime, and you’re thankful for the extra runs and odm time that helped build your stamina up.

You spot signal flares being shot up from the squad directly in front of yours - black signal flares. An abnormal titan. You’re hyperaware, scanning the space in front of you for it, when you hear the telltale sound of odm gear whizzing. Since you currently are (and have been for the entirety of the expedition) on flat plains with few trees in sight, bar the forest to your left, it doesn’t take long to see the soldier engaged in battle not far ahead of you. You wonder why she’s fighting alone, before spotting the 13m titan her squad encountered right ahead. The abnormal is probably 9m, although it’s hard to tell because of the way it crawls, scuttling across the ground like a cockroach. No sooner are your eyes privy to the scene do you see the soldier being grabbed by the titan’s broad hand.

Since her squad is engaged elsewhere, that leaves you as the only unoccupied medic within suitable distance, so you change the course of your horse towards her as Levi shoots towards the titan with his gear, effortlessly slicing the nape before the girl becomes titan food. The titan falls limp into a steaming lump, dropping the girl from its grip. You dismount as you approach her, grabbing your bag from the wagon, before moving to assess her injuries. Levi shoots off without a word, landing back on his horse and seamlessly slotting back into formation.

You focus on the soldier in front of you, going through the motions of treatments and treating what you can to the best of your abilities with the field med kit you’re supplied by the Regiment. Whilst your skills may be better than many others, at least within the Survey Corps, there’s still only so much even you can do with limited supplies. You haul the soldier up into your wagon and set your supplies back beside her.

Once you remount your horse, you hear the sound of signal flares shooting up from in front of you. As soon as you look in that direction you see it - another abnormal titan, running straight at you. Its speed is alarming, and you watch in shock as it bypasses all other soldiers until it’s 100 metres away from you. You don’t have time to think - you have an injured soldier in your wagon, and you need to do everything you can to keep her safe until you’re back in the walls.

You turn on your horse and set off as fast as you can away from the titan - away from formation. Probably not your brightest moment, but right now you just want to put some distance between you and the titan, shooting up a black flare that you pray to the walls your squad will see. It’s no use. The titan is too fast, and you quickly realise that you have to take it down or die.

You stand on your horse and turn, engaging your hooks and latching onto the titans shoulder, before shooting up and drawing your blades. Thanks to the flat ground the expedition has occurred on, your gas is running low, so you try not to do too many movements as you dodge the titan’s grip. However, that doesn’t work out (because why would anything you try work out?) since the titan is grabbing at your wires, forcing you to use more gas to weave out of its grip. As you’re rounding to the nape, you don’t notice the titan bend its arm round and grab at your wires with both hands, pulling them apart until they snap and snatching your falling figure out the air.

Your scream is cut off as it squeezes, and your attempts to slice at its fingers prove futile. It starts to bring your thrashing figure towards its mouth, agonisingly slow. Panic hits as your leg is placed in the titan’s mouth. Your escape efforts are futile, and you close your eyes as its jaws close, its teeth sinking into your thigh. An agonising scream rips from your throat and your eyes shoot open from the pain, in time to see the soldier cutting through the titan’s nape.

You’re dropped from its now limp hands and start plummeting towards the floor. You brace for impact, your mind flying between your favourite people. Petra and Hange - your heart aches at the thought of leaving them behind. You think of your brother and parents, and feel some peace knowing you’ll see them again soon. Your mind wanders to your squadmates, to Levi. It may not have been long, but you’re grateful for the time you all spent together, the time Levi spent helping you through your panic attack and nightmares.

A small smile crosses your face as you forget the pain of leaving your loved ones and enjoy the memories of the time you spent together. You don’t register being snatched from the air. You feel like you’re in a warm embrace, and you sink deeper into the ground below you, snuggling your cheek into the comfortable surface beneath you.

Maybe death isn’t so bad.

Your eyes peel open to see that you’re not falling through the air anymore. You’re clutched in a pair of strong arms. You don’t have time to register any features before you both hit the ground. The solider puts their body beneath yours, cushioning your fall, and you both roll across the ground before coming to a stop. Your hands are clenched in fists, clutching the shirt of your saviour. You can feel his hard chest beneath your hands, and it soothes your nerves. You feel like you’re floating as you open your eyes to look at his face. Your breath is stolen from your lungs as your eyes focus on his face.

Levi.

Why is Levi here? He should be with the squad. How come he saved you? And why is he giving you that look? His eyes are brimming with emotion, concern lacing his brows and parting his lips, his hand cupping your cheek, the other arm wrapped tightly around your waist. His chest rises and falls in rapid succession against your fists, and his eyes scan over your face, searching for injury. Your eyes roam his features, admiring how handsome he really is. His eyes flick back to yours, glittering with fear. You didn’t know he cared.

“Captain” you sigh, still feeling weightless.

“Are you okay? How hurt are you? Lie back, let me check your wounds”

He pushes you onto your back and climbs on top of you, scanning down your body until his eyes land on your legs. His head shoots back up, eyes landing on yours, pain etched across his face.

“Where’s your med bag?” He asks, voice trembling slightly. You lift your hand and point towards the wagon that you know is somewhere behind you, and Levi rises to his feet before running over to the wagon, returning seconds later with your bag. You let your eyes drift shut, enjoying the breeze across your face, when you feel a sharp pain in your thigh. Your eyes shoot open, and a whimper escapes your throat.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Levi soothes, bringing his knuckles up to your cheek and stroking softly. You hum before he continues his treatment. Your curiosity piques and you heave your body to rest on your elbows, peering down at your legs to see what Levi’s working on. As soon as you register the scene, you scream without meaning to, causing Levi’s eyes to shoot up to your face, wide with alarm.

In short, your leg is fucked. The titan bites are huge and deep, running across the length and underside of your right thigh. Blood is gushing out from the wounds, causing you to drop your head back to the ground as weakness overtakes your body. You can feel every ounce of pain now, and it’s torturous. Tears are streaming down your face when suddenly, Levi is hoisting you into his arms again, careful to avoid the wounds on your leg. Despite knowing it’s wrong, you curl into his body, fisting his shirt and burying your face in the crook of his neck. He holds your head in his hand, pressing you further into his hold, into his body, whispering reassurance.

You don’t get long to enjoy his comfort, as he places you in your wagon next to the injured soldier you treated earlier. He ties your horses together and sets you all off back to formation. Blood is still seeping from your wound, despite Levi tying one of your pressure belts above it as a tourniquet. It’s not long before you pass out from blood loss, head lolling to the side.

Once you pass out, you don’t see Levi turning back to look at you, noticing your sleeping frame. You don’t feel the dread that rises through his body. He forces his emotions down into the pit of his stomach, willing himself to focus. No matter how badly he wishes he could take you straight back to the Walls for treatment, he has a squad to lead. He can’t abandon them or the mission.

He rides back towards formation, slipping back into his spot ahead of his squad. He hears Petra gasp as she sees you, calling out to him.

“Sir” her voice shakes. “What happened?”

“Titan got to her whilst she was saving the other solider. She’s alive. We’ll get her proper treatment once we’re in the forest” he responds, repeating the words to himself in his head.

You’re alive. You’re going to be fine. You’re not going to die.

-

Your whole body hurts.

A stabbing pain shoots through your leg and you groan, eyes fluttering open, eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. You’re in a hospital bed. You don’t remember coming here. How did you get here? What happened with the expedition? Is the squad okay? Is Hange? Is Levi?

Your thoughts start to swim as you try to recollect anything from the expedition day. Fuck, you don’t even know how long it’s been since.

“You’re awake” A deep baritone voice drawls from beside you. Your head whips around, wide eyes finding a familiar pair of grey ones.

What’s he doing here? What are you doing here? Where’s everyone else? What’s going on?

“How are you feeling?” Levi asks, concerned eyes searching yours. Confusion tugs at your lips. Why would you not feel okay? You open your mouth to answer, your throat crazily dry.

“Fine” you croak out. Levi stands up and grabs you a cup of water, before coming back to your bedside and bringing the cup to your lips. You drink from it slowly, nodding when you’ve had enough. He sets the cup aside, not saying anything. You both remain in silence for a moment before curiosity overwhelms you.

“What happened out there?” You whisper, almost as if you’re afraid of the answer (you are). Levi heaves a sigh before beginning.

“We were on the expedition. You broke off to treat a wounded soldier. Whilst you were out of formation, an abnormal came out of the forest and charged at you. You sent up a signal flare and fought the titan alone. By the time I had made it back around to where you were, it had snapped your gear and had you grabbed, biting down on your leg. I managed to get there in time to kill it before your limb was severed, but it’s a nasty ass wound. You’ll be out of proper training for a while, but doctors said it should heal within 6 months” he stops talking there, allowing the weight of his words to sink in.

6 months.

6 months out of a regular training routine. 6 months before you have a chance at normality again. 6 months before you can run properly again - before you can feel like you.

Levi’s eyes are searching yours again, although this time you’re not sure what for.

“I’ll call in the doctor. Give me a sec” he says after a moment, walking out of the room. He’s back moments later with the doctor. She asks basic questions - how’s your pain level, how’s your memory of the accident etc etc. She tells you you needed 139 stitches on your leg to close the wounds (yikes), but you’re incredibly lucky that they were fairly clean cuts that could be stitched rather than having to resort to amputation. She administers another dose of morphine to continue dulling the pain overnight (thank fuck) and goes over your training regime for the next 6 months.

“It’s crucial not to overexert yourself during recovery, or you’ll never heal properly. You’ll be on crutches for at least 6 weeks, and starting light physio after 3. If things are going as we expect, you can bear your full weight after that point and walk without the crutches. You’ll have a prominent limp for a while. It may never fully go away, but it will fade over time. You’re not to do anything on your odm gear for at least 6 months, or you’ll be back to square one” she says sternly, giving you a firm look.

You nod, signalling that you understand, and to continue. “Good. You can start running again from month 4, but no 5 or 10 mile runs until month 5 at least. We’ll go over all of this again as time passes. For now, make sure not to beat any weight on it, and you’ll need to come back in 2 weeks to have the stitches removed. There will be some scarring of course, but hopefully it won’t be too raised. Any questions?” You shake your head, the morphine making you feel floaty and dozy again. You just want to sleep. “Great. I’ll be back in the morning to change your dressings, then we can think about discharge” she says, before leaving you and Levi alone again. You’d almost forgotten he was there to be honest. You roll your head over to face him, too heavy to pick up.

“How’s the squad?” You slur, eyes dropping.

“They’re fine. Hange too, since I know you’ll ask” he replies. You smile at the words.

“And you?” You ask. He furrows his brow in confusion. “Are you fine? You broke my fall didn’t you? Are you hurt?” As you talk, fear rises in you knowing Levi could be injured because of you.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. You’re the one with a titan bite.” You frown at the slight deflection, but leave it alone as the door creaks open again, a different, frightened looking doctor emerging from the doorway.

“Captain Levi, now that Wrenley is awake I must insist you go back to the barracks until morning.” he says, fear lacing his voice. Your eyes flick black to Levi, wondering what that’s about. Levi makes a ‘tch’ sound before standing again and brushes his thumb over your eyes - which are fighting to stay open - making them close. His touch is electric, but oddly soothing. His hands are soft. You settle down into the bed.

“You’re exhausted. Sleep, Wren. I’ll be back with everyone tomorrow.” He says before exiting the room, leaving you alone and already drifting asleep.

-

You wake the next morning when the doctor enters your room with fresh bandages. It’s only been a couple hours since you last woke, and the morphine has worn off, leaving you in agonising pain. You’re beyond grateful for the new dose you’re given before your bandages are changed. You peek at the wound, your jaw dropping at the sheer size. You’re not exactly surprised, given the pain and amount of stitches you were given, but it’s still shocking to see a wound of that size on your own body.

Once the doctor is done, she gives you a sheet of paper reminding you of your rough training schedule for the next 6 months, saying they’ll be giving one to Levi when he’s here so he can design your training properly. You’re told you’ll be discharged within the week before she leaves again. You skim over the paper, checking over the bits you’ve forgotten.

The future may look tough now, but you’ve always managed to fight through life. This is no different.

-

It’s been six months since the 52nd expedition - six months since your injury. Your recovery period went smoothly, and you’re back in regular training. The first two weeks after the injury were easily the hardest of your time as a solider (more than the cadets) - you were completely bedridden and forbidden from walking alone even on crutches. Not by the doctors, but by Hange, Petra and, surprisingly, Levi. You hadn’t wanted to burden anyone with taking care of you, and had tried to do as much as possible alone after being discharged.

Hange and Petra, however, were appalled that you would even think that, and refused to let you lift a finger, let alone move from your bed. You’re not sure where they found so much time to spend with you to be honest. You expected Levi to have some sort of objection to them babying you, especially regarding Petra, since you’re almost certain she was cutting her runs or chore duties to spend time with you, but he said nothing on the matter.

When you brought it up to him one day, he said he didn’t see any issue, and that you shouldn’t push yourself anyways if you wanted to heal properly. You’re certain you heard him whisper that he was glad someone could stay with you when he was busy, but you brushed it off when he didn’t say anything afterwards.

He’s acted differently since that day. You knew he cared for you and your performance solely as comrades, but the last 6 months he’s spent training you one on one have made you think he might care for you differently. Your relationship, whilst still strictly professional, has started to become more friendly. You look forward to seeing him the same way as with your squad, Petra and Hange, and you find his presence comforting; although you’re not certain if you can call him a friend, since you have no idea how he feels about you. He could’ve just been acting differently around you out of sympathy for your injury. A captain ensuring the wellbeing of his subordinate. Regardless, you’re thankful for him.

You’ve been training hard to get your strength back in your leg for the last few months. It was difficult, as all recovery is, but you refused to buckle and continued pushing forwards. You stuck rigidly to Levi’s training plan and meal plans. You were consistent in your physio but careful not to overdo the training and end up starting all over again. You even kept completely off your odm gear until you were cleared by the doctor at the 6 months mark, despite itching to be back. Your skills have gotten rusty, but luckily your muscle memory has remained, guiding you back into fluency with your gear.

More importantly, you’re allowed to run again - the thing you missed most during recovery. Naturally, your 5 mile time has increased, and running it is still more difficult than before, but you’ve brought it back down to 32 minutes in the last month. Given the circumstances, you’re proud of yourself, and excited to see your time improve as daily runs become normal to you again.

Despite being cleared for expeditions when you were cleared for odm training, Commander Erwin told you to sit out on today’s one - the 56th expedition. He said that, whilst aware of your progress, he doesn’t want to risk anything happening out in the field, and would rather you held back once more so you can all be confident that you’re ready. Whilst frustrated, you understand where he’s coming from. You can’t risk being a liability when fighting titans. You may be part of Levi Squad, but you’re only just dropping the rank of wounded soldier, and you know as well as he does that a wounded soldier should stay off the battlefield. You need to be patient. The soldier you treated that day has been fully recovered for 4 months, and visited you consistently to show her gratitude. You’re glad she’s doing well.

Since the Corps are beyond the walls right now, there’s no one at the barracks or in any of the training grounds, so Erwin organised for you to spend the day with the Garrison so you’d have something to do. That ‘something’ is sitting around and watching the newly graduated 104th cadets on canon duty, but you’re not exactly complaining. It’s a peaceful day. You look out at the land beyond Trost and wonder how the expedition is going. Is Hange okay? Is Petra? Your squad? Are they showing off their exceptional skills? Six months training under Captain Levi really has improved everyone’s-

A huge explosion goes off just outside the wall. A bright yellow light blinds your eyes before you’re thrown backwards off the wall, crashing pulsing through your ears. Confusion rips through your body as you fall, before you hook your gear into the wall, boots scraping along the surface as you come to a halt. You look around, bewildered, for an explanation.

You see the cadets you had been watching and the Garrison soldiers you had been chatting with mirroring your stance, before one boy takes off back up the wall. You watch as he swings back onto the flat surface, eyes bulging when you see what’s up there. Huge, red fingers clutch the wall. You can see the top of a massive face with no skin peeking over the top.

Your eyes shoot down to the gate, horror rushing through your veins when you see that it’s been kicked in, opening Trost to the titans that are already slowly making their way inside. You look back up to the top of the wall, only to find it’s gone. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a huge problem to deal with now.

The Colossal Titan was here. And it kicked through the gates of Trost.

Wall Rose has been breached.

Chapter Text

Trost is in chaos. Citizens are running for their lives from the slowly increasing number of titans entering the city, and the Garrison are trying their best to maintain order and rally the cadets. You feel sympathy for the newly graduated soldiers - you’re sure most of them wouldn’t have chosen the Survey Corps anyways, and never expected to actually have to fight titans. Now, they don’t have a choice.

The futile attempt to rope off the gate didn’t provide a long time to rally troops - the titans found their way in quickly. The cadets are assigned to middle guard - resupply, titan clearing and message relay. The Garrison are on the vanguard, and the Garrison elite are in the rear guard, but there’s one Cadet who apparently has the skill to be assigned to the Elite Squad. You report with the Garrison soldiers for your assignment, the Wings of Freedom on your back standing out among the roses of the Garrison.

“The Garrison Corps will take the vanguard! The Cadets will take the middle guard, and the Garrison Elite will take the rearguard! Additionally, the advance squad has been wiped out! The titans are entering the city! In other words, the Armoured Titan could appear again and breach the inner gate at any time!” Commander Woermann yells to the troops, and murmurs break out at the mention of the Armoured Titan. Should Wall Rose be breached, humanity will lose most of its territory and population, and have to fall back into Wall Sina. Chaos will surely erupt from the lack of space and resources, and the Survey Corps will be under even more pressure to recapture territory.

“The vanguard is currently engaged in battle!” Woermann continues, silencing the soldiers. “This defense operation has one goal: defend Wall Rose until the citizens of Trost have evacuated! Remember, desertion is punishable by death! Lay down your lives!”

“Sir!” You all chorus, saluting him before splitting into your squads. You head towards the commander to receive an assignment.

“Sir! Wrenley Mukrid of the Survey Corps, sir! As you’re aware, I’ve been requested to stay with the Garrison for the day so as not to exert my injury, but I’m cleared for combat. I’m happy to be deployed in the Vanguard!” You say confidently, holding your salute as you speak.

“Ah yes. Whilst we need all the experienced soldiers we can get in the Vanguard and Elite Squads, the whole reason you’re not outside the Walls right now is because Erwin didn’t want you to engage in combat just yet. While I understand that you’re medically cleared, I’m hesitant to go against Erwin’s wishes and put you in the field, so we will keep you on emergency standby. For now, please join the cadets in resupplying, and treat any wounded soldiers you come across, as you are a medic in the Survey Corps. Do not engage unless absolutely necessary.”

“Yes sir!” You say with a salute. You’re slightly disappointed that you’re being held back from a directly aiding the counterattack when you’re perfectly capable of fighting, but you understand the Commanders’ logic. You’re just out of recovery for a major injury, and it wouldn’t do anyone any good for you to fuck up your leg again. Each soldier in this operation has an important role, so for now you’ll do as you’re instructed. You let your arm drop and head to HQ to meet up with the cadets on resupply.

HQ is a mess. Cadets are running around in a panic, some are curled up crying, but a few are busy filling gas cylinders and stacking blades to resupply the vanguard and middle guard. Titans are slowly starting to swarm outside HQ because of the number of people. You can hear windows breaking above you. You quickly refill some gas cylinders, ignoring the odd looks you get with your Wings of Freedom. This isn’t the time to talk about why you’re not in the field. This is the time to aid humanity. You ensure you have full canisters in your own gear and head up to the roof to survey the area, grabbing your medical bag on the way up. When you get up there, 15 metre titans are pawing at you and the others up there. You slice at their fingers like it’s second nature as your eyes scan the area for wounded soldiers or soldiers in need of gas supply. Your eyes widen as you take in the sheer numbers of corpses littering the streets. You tuck the spare gas under one arm and use the other to engage your odm, soaring towards an injured solider. You land beside him and place the gas on the ground, tearing open your medical bag and grabbing your bandages and leather straps. You treat the wound quickly, letting the soldier know what’s going on as you do and checking around for any titans. Luckily, the area is clear, and you hoist the soldier onto your back before taking off on your odm gear back to HQ. There’s a mock infirmary set up there, so you deliver the soldier before heading back out.

It’s only when you’re back on the roof that you realise you left the full gas canisters in the street. You curse yourself before engaging your hooks and soaring back to where you found the soldier. You land on a roof next to the street before hopping down and picking up your gas. You latch back onto the roof and zip up, turning around to be faced with a titan. It swipes its hand at you and you barely have time to reacting, jumping backwards off the roof before lashing back onto the side of the building. You shoot your gas and propel upwards, before latching onto the titans shoulder and flying around its body, dropping the gas cylinders and pulling out your swords. You dodge the titans grabbing hands and disengage your hooks once you’re at the titans back, before propelling yourself forwards with a boost of your gas, spinning to gain momentum as you slice out the titan’s nape. It falls to the ground and you land back onto the roof, scanning for any more immediate danger. You sigh when you realise there’s nothing, resheathing your blades and jumping back down to retrieve that fucking gas.

Your first titan kill since your injury. Your leg feels completely healed now, and you ponder if you can use this to make your way to the vanguard and get your kill count back on level with the other members of Levi Squad.

You land back on the roof of HQ with a huff. You found a few soldiers in need of resupply as you were heading back, so your hands are empty save your medical bag. You head back down to the resupply area, needing to fill up for yourself as well, finding some soldiers talking to Woermann.

“Sir, if the titans get in, we won’t be able to hold this place down alone!” a soldier cries desperately.

“Please sir, you have to stay here!” Another agrees.

“Move aside” the commander replies. “I have to organise reinforcements.”

“In the safety of the inner gates, right?” A cadet asks, expression hard. Your eyes widen at his audacity to talk back to his superior officer in such a way.

“I’m following regulations. Obeying regulations is a soldier’s duty!” The commander yells, losing composure. The whole situation is difficult for everyone, but instead of uniting the military force, it’s destroying your camaraderie.

You watch as the situation escalates, the commander pointing his sword at a cadets neck. You turn away to continue your resupply mission. Your thoughts travel back to your squad out in the field. You wonder if they’re aware of the breach yet, if they might be heading back to aid the counterattack. You wonder if they’re even still alive…

Nope. Not the time. Humanity might be wiped out today; you need to focus the task at hand - namely, aiding the vanguard however you can. Before you reach the supply rooms, you hear a bell - withdrawal signal. You turn around to head back out the building, stopping when you see what’s outside through the windows. Titans are swarming the HQ from every angle. There’s no way out.

You’re all fucked.

Not only is there no way to exit to withdraw over the wall, there’s also no way to resupply any soldiers out in the field. You’re certain there are plenty who have run low on gas - like yourself (you might  have engaged in combat more than instructed when delivering that gas) - this far into battle and are more effectively stranded. Your head whips round at the sound of a gunshot - a cadet shooting himself in the mouth…

You turn slowly back to the windows, finding the titans to suddenly be a welcome sight. That belief is quickly quashed when you see the giant eye staring back at you through the glass. You scan the other windows to assess the situation. There’s no way you can take all these titans down alone, and the cadets seem to have lost any will to fight, judging from the way they’re cowering behind tables and crying. You need to rally these troops and get them out, doing their jobs. You pity them as children in battle, but they chose to become soldiers, and that means they were aware that dedicating their hearts for humanity meant laying down their lives in situations like this.

Maybe you’ve grown too accustomed to death over the years.

You shake your head and will your mind to focus. You need some way to get out of here - not only to get yourself and these cadets over the wall, but to get the resupply gear out to the vanguard and middle guard soldiers.

You hear a cry from somewhere in the city, but this one sounds different from the screams of anguish you’ve heard since the wall was kicked in. This almost sounds like a collective battle cry. You glance out one of the windows that’s not blocked by a titan and see a group of cadets from the middle ground soaring towards HQ, one flying ahead of the others. That’s the one that was assigned to the elite squad. Mikasa Ackerman, you think is her name. You watch, impressed, as she takes down a titan in her path with ease, continuing on. There’s just one issue with her technique right now. This far into battle, especially for the elite squad in the rearguard, she can’t possibly have that much gas left. So why is she boosting through the air so recklessly?

Just as the thought crossed your mind, you see her gas sputter and fail, and she bounces off a roof before falling into the streets below. Two of the other cadets, a blonde boy and a boy with a shaved head, change course to check on her, whilst the others continue on towards HQ.

You turn away from the window and try to come up with a solution. You admire the cadets’ will to fight from the middle guard, but there’s no way for them to kill all these titans, no matter their willpower. Especially now that Mikasa has gone down.

Just then, you hear a massive crash. Your head flies around, scanning the windows, worried the Armoured Titan showed and broke into Wall Rose. You’re surprised to see the gate intact, and you look around for the cause of the noise, eyes bulging out of your head at the sight your eyes land on. A Titan is flying across the street, and it looks like it was hit?? You watch as a second titan charges towards it and starts ripping it limb from limb, stamping repeatedly on it. You can’t see well from here, but when the Titan doesn’t get up, you assume that other one killed it. Your brain short circuits as you try to come up with a reason you’ve just seen a Titan kill another titan. You decide your mind is playing tricks on you, until you see that same titan assume a fight stance before punching the head off a different titan. You’ve definitely lost it. This isn’t how titans behave. Even for an Abnormal, this is absurd. You’ve seen your fair share in the Survey Corps, but this is unheard of for you. it certainly wasn’t taught in the Cadets. Titans don’t kill other titans, they eat humans. That’s how it’s always been. So what are you watching unfold?

This doesn’t make any sense at all. You watch the titan in disbelief as it yells, and you somehow get even more surprised when you see three cadets (Mikasa - she’s lucky to be alive - and the two boys who went to save her) run towards that Titan and begin attempting to guide it towards fresh opponents towards HQ, observing how it listens to them.

Suddenly, a massive crash of shattering glass erupts from the windows. You duck instinctively before straightening up, realising this means the titans must have broken through. You’re once again shocked as you watch cadets crash through the windows, landing breathlessly. They must’ve used the chaos of the strange titan and the deaths of other soldiers as a way of saving themselves. You’re glad to see quite a few made it. You’re about to call out to them when one boy grabs a cowering cadet from beneath a table and strikes him across the face, sending him sprawling.

“ These people abandoned us! ” The boy yells as his friend holds him back. “People are dead because of you!”

“The supply room is swarmed! We couldn’t do anything!” A girl cries helplessly.

“It’s your job to do something regardless!” The boy screams. You’re about to intervene when you’re cut off yet again by a large crash. The titans are breaking through the open windows, sticking their heads and hands in to grab at the people inside.

“Hurry! Get inside!” someone shouts, causing a mad, inefficient rush. The boy who was screaming at the soldier earlier is now frozen, staring back at the titans through the gap in the wall. You run towards him and grab his arm, tugging him away from the breach in time to see a huge fist crush into the side of the titan’s face.

“WHAT!” You both yell simultaneously, watching as the titans go flying. The pieces click in your mind - that Titan. Maybe this boy didn’t see it. Your suspicion is confirmed when it steps into view, roaring.

“Huh? What the hell?” The boy stammers, totally bewildered. You can’t blame him. It’s then that those three cadets come crashing through the window. The boy with the shaved head pats his friend on the back before turning to the confused boy.

“Hey! That Abnormal is killing the other titans! And it doesn’t care about us! We can use it to escape from here!” He says excitedly. The other cadets are unsure, and murmurs ensue until Mikasa speaks up.

“It’s no dream. I don’t care if it’s an Abnormal or not. We’re going to let it rampage here as long as possible. Because, realistically, that’s our best chance at surviving this right now.” The titan outside continues taking down other titans outside, giving you and the cadets time to head down and deal with the supply room.

“That Titan is tough. I doubt the others will be able to harm this building whilst it’s out there.” The boy says. You tune out the rest of their conversation as you focus on helping devise a strategy to take back the supply room. Some cadets come back in with shotguns as the blonde boy - Armin is his name - explains his plan.

“The guns are better than nothing. If there’s still seven 3-4 metre titans in the supply room, this much firepower should be able to blind them all at once.” He explains. “We’ll use the lift to lower people into the room. They’ll simultaneously fire at the faces of all of the titans, rendering them blinded. Then, the moment of truth; seven people hiding up top will strike at the titans’ napes whilst they’re still blinded and kill them.”

“In other words” you say, and all eyes turn to you “this plan puts everyone’s lives on the line for a single attack. Seven people have to slay seven titans at once, or it all goes wrong. Right?”

“Yeah. That’s it.” Armin replies, unsure. “We’ll need our seven best soldiers to pull this off, so I’m sorry everyone’s lives are on your shoulders.”

“It’s no problem.” A blonde boy replies.

“Hey” the yelling boy from earlier -  you think his name is Jean - says to you. You turn to him, head cocked in confusion. “Your jacket. You’re in the Survey Corps.” He states, and you nod. “So what’re you doing here in Trost instead of out on expedition, especially not in the elites. You have more experience fighting titans than all of us, right?” He asks. You’re not sure where he’s going with this.

“It’s true I have more experience, but I was left off today’s expedition by Commander Erwin due to it being the end of recovery for an injury.” You don’t give them details on exactly what injury it is. “Given the fact I’m only in Trost because Commander Erwin didn’t want me to risk re injury by fighting today, Commander Woermann assigned me to resupply and medical duties instead of the Vanguard or Elite.”

“So you were on resupply too?” He suddenly yells. “You’re a Survey Corps soldier! You fight these fucking titans all the time and you still were too scared to come out and do your job? What, decided that since we haven’t picked Regiments we’re expendable to the military now?” He shouts, and the room falls silent. You understand his frustration - due to the lack of supplies, he probably had to watch a lot of friends die - but he’s not understanding the situation you were in either. You take a deep breath to keep your reply calm and collected.

“HQ was entirely swarmed. I may have more titan fighting experience, but a huge part of surviving in the Survey Corps is knowing limitations. If you rush out into battle every time you see an opponent, you’re just going to get yourself killed, and you’ll be of no use to anyone. Going out alone through that mess of titans would’ve been suicide. You know that as well as I do, and even if I had tried anyways, I wouldn’t have made it to you to resupply since I’m out of gas myself!” Your voice raises at the end of your sentence, and you pause to recompose yourself. “Jean, no matter what regiment you pick, there will be soldiers who abandon their duty, especially in the Survey Corps, but I’m not one of them. I was out resupplying and fighting titans to aid the middle ground despite direct orders not to engage, because it’s our duty as soldiers to fight when we’re capable for the sake of humanity. But the difference between that and fighting every Titan we see is being able to tell when our actions will actually help someone, or if it’s pointless suicide.” You give him a pointed look, and he relaxes his face before nodding, shame trickling into his features. You stand and head towards the lift.

It’s time to set the plan in motion. Despite being perfectly capable of fighting, even the cadets refuse to let you be one of the seven, instead sending you on the lift. As the seven descend the stairs to their positions, you hear the tall blonde - Reiner - and shaved head boy - Connie - having the most ridiculous conversation, with Reiner somehow convincing Connie that shoving blades up titan asses will kill them. You chuckle as you take your place in the lift, rifle ready.

The journey down is agonising. The kids around you are all terrified as you enter the supply room and see the roaming titans. You scan around the room - 7 titans. Thank fuck. You’d have all been screwed if there were more. You all point your rifles and wait for the right time to shoot as the titans get closer.

“Stay calm! They’re not close enough!” One boy yells. You stay still, finger on the trigger, until the titans’ faces are right up against your guns.

“FIRE!!” You yell, and your eardrums feel like they’ve burst as gunfire rings out from every angle. Steam fills the air as the titans’ eyes are shot out, and the elite seven leap off the beams of the ceiling and swing at their respective targets. Crashes sound and you watch 5 of the titans fall. 5/7 killed, meaning two missed. You watch as they’re backed into the walls by Titans, and panic erupts. You leap out of the lift and jump down, drawing your blades and slicing the nape of the closest Titan, and you watch as Mikasa mirrors your action on the other Titan, a blonde girl putting away her blades after seeing there’s no more threat to her friends.

“I owe you one” Connie says to you, and you turn to him with a smile.

“No problem. Now that all the titans are dead, let’s all resupply.” You shout to the group, and cheers of “we did it!” sound from the lift before everyone scrambles to refill their gas, spirits high. You feel significantly better now that you have a full tank yourself.

Once you’ve refilled, you head outside behind some of the cadets and see Mikasa standing on a roof, looking down at the street. You and Armin shoot up to join her, and your eyes bulge yet again at the scene in front of you. That titan from earlier, the one that was fighting other titans, is being eaten by three titans. As if it’s human.

Armin gasps beside you. “Cannibalism? Maybe it can’t regenerate?”

“I thought if we could figure out that Titan, it could’ve helped us break free from this hopeless situation.” Mikasa mutters.

“Agreed.” Another voice says from behind, and you turn to see Reiner, Jean and two other cadets. “We’ll learn nothing if it’s eaten! We have to kill the ones eating it and keep it alive!”

“Reiner are you insane? We can finally get the fuck over the wall!” Jean yells.

“What if there a a chance that Titan could be an ally?” the blonde girl asks. “It would be a better weapon than any cannon, right?”

“Ally?” Jean stutters. “Are you serious?” He opens his mouth to say something else when Armin’s gasp cuts him off.

“That’s the Abnormal that ate Thomas…” just then, the strange titan suddenly starts running towards the Abnormal, dragging the other titans with it until its arms snap off, before latching its mouth onto the nape of the Abnormal and flinging it at another titan, snapping the nape. You and the cadets watch with wide eyes.

“Guess it doesn’t need our help after all” Jean mutters, just as it drops to the floor. “Seems it’s finished for good. Let’s get going! As if that monster could ever be an ally…. A titan is a titan.” He turns back around when he sees you’re all still stood, frozen in place, eyes trained where the titan fell. “What’s wrong with you all?” He asks before he abruptly stops taking. All of your eyes are pointed at the nape of the strange titan. It almost looks like there’s a fucking person climbing out. That’s impossible right?

The thing pulls its face out of the titan, exposing it to you.

Well, shit. That’s definitely a fucking human.

Mikasa gasps before shooting off the roof, landing beside the titan and running towards the boy. Your brain is malfunctioning. Who is that boy? Why the fuck is he inside a titan? Has he been controlling it? How did he get in there?

What the fuck is happening?

Mikasa is hugging the boy and sobbing. You’re standing on the roof, jaw dropped, the faces of the cadets around you mirroring your own before you turn to Armin for an explanation.

“What the fuck is going on Armin?” You ask, voice more accusatory than you intended.

“Eren. He was eaten earlier. This doesn’t make sense” Armin stammers before following Mikasa, Jean right behind him. You remain on the roof, eyes wide, brain broken, trying to make sense of this situation, not paying attention to the words or expressions of the three cadets behind you.

-

You’re back inside Wall Rose. Once you left Trost, Armin and Mikasa took Eren whilst the Commander told you and the cadets with you not to breathe a word to anyone. You’re sat drinking water when a member of the Garrison comes up to you.

“Wrenley Mukrid? You’re wanted up on the wall. We need your help with something” you nod in response and follow, engaging your gear to scale the wall before seeing a group of soldiers. You approach and assume a salute.

“Wrenley Mukrid of the Survey Corps! I’ve been requested?”

“Ah yes. We need some expert opinions on strategy from this point. Seeing as you deal with titans face to face significantly more frequently than any of us, we figured your input was invaluable.” You drop your arm and look over the wall, seeing a huge swarm of titans.

“The technical crew decided to use the titans as a defensive wall. However, this isn’t a long term solution in any way. We need to clear these titans out of here, especially since the Survey Corps will have to come through this area. We’re sure Commander Erwin has sensed something off about the number of titans and the direction they’re heading out in the field, so we should expect them back soon. However, we need to decide - continue attempts to secure the city for their arrival now that civilians have evacuated, or abandon Trost now and allow it to fall to the titans, meaning the gate of Wall Rose will never open again unless we somehow manage to seal the breach and reclaim Trost someday, as well as significantly increasing chances of the Armoured Titan breaking through.” You look over Trost, observing the situation in the city. Titans swarm the place, and with the gate still busted, they continue pouring in. Reclaiming the city doesn’t seem like much of an option. “Right now” the soldier continues “ensuring the inner gate remains intact is priority number one.” You nod in agreement.

Just then, a huge explosion sounds from the inner gate. Well, fuck.

All of your heads shoot around before you all take off on odm gear to the other side of the wall, your mind racing, dread coursing through your body. Did the Armoured Titan appear and crash through the inner gate? Is Wall Rose compromised? Is it something to do with that boy from the titan - Eren was his name? You land on the wall atop the gate and look down. Smoke clouds the area, making it difficult to see, but there’s no sight of the Armoured Titan, and there are Garrison soldiers stood in a semicircle around the gate, Commander Woermann included. You assume this means the Wall is fine, and you breathe a sigh of relief. That feeling doesn’t last long though, as you realise that the rising smoke smells like titan steam. All the soldiers have evacuated Trost, so you shouldn’t be able to smell any dying titans right now. What’s going on?

It’s then that you focus on looking through the steam, and your eyes fall on the half formed titan sat by the gate. You immediately draw your blades instinctively, before hearing Woermann yell at his soldiers to remain on standby. You can’t understand why the fuck he’d say that, unless…

“It’s him” you whisper, drawing the attention of the soldier next to you.

“Who? Do you know what the fuck is going on here?” He yells. You don’t say anything at first, remembering the gag order, but then realise that all of those soldiers will have witnessed it, so you open your mouth anyways.

“That’s a human” you start, earning you confused expressions from those around you.

“Fuck you mean that’s a human? That’s a fucking titan! You should recognise them best, Survey Corps!” A different man yells. You ignore his comment and think of a way to explain quickly.

“I was with a team of cadets when the withdrawal signal sounded. There was a titan that only attacked other titans, never humans. It was even eaten by titans. When it collapsed, a cadet emerged from its nape. That deformed titan down there is that cadet.” You finish, and see eyes of horror and confusion staring back at you. You’re sure it mirrors your own expression. The thought of humans becoming titans is fucking terrifying. There’s a crash at the skull of the slowly disintegrating Titan falls to the ground.

“So you’re saying that a human turned into a fucking titan out there?” The same man says, though his voice lacks the accusation and condescension from earlier. You nod silently, eyes turning back down as a boy runs out from the smoke to face the soldiers. You recognise him - it’s Armin.

You listen as he does his best to persuade Woermann that Eren is not a threat, and can be used to aid humanity. Your fear dissipates at a certain sentence.

“The titans saw him as prey, just as they see us! No matter what, that’s a fact!” You realise he’s right - you saw Eren’s titan being eaten, just like a human. You saw how he made no attempts to eat any human. Titans have never showed interest in any creature except humans. The fact that the titans were still drawn to him proves that he is still human.

Woermann looks to be contemplating something, before deciding to disregard Armin’s point and order the cannons, when Armin suddenly assumes his salute.

“As a soldier, I swear to dedicate my heart to humanity’s victory! There is no better honour than to die for that cause! If we use Eren’s ability with our own manpower, we can retake Trost today! For humanity’s glory, in the rest of little remaining time, I will continue to preach his strategic value!” Armin yells, holding his salute. You watch, amazed at his display, but your heart sinks when Woermann refuses to listen to any reasoning. He can’t see past the threat to the advantages of having a Titan on our side. He raises his arm to order the cannons, but a hand grabs it before he can complete the signal.

Commander Pyxis. He offers some words to Woermann, and Armin sinks to the ground in relief. Pyxis must have decided to keep him and his friends alive, at least for now.

-

“Use the boulder to seal the gap??” You ask, eyebrows raised. Armin holds your gaze.

“I came up with it on the spot. I wanted to show that there are possibilities for Eren’s ability to be advantageous to us. Of course, I was desperate not to die as well!” Pyxis hums thoughtfully.

“Well, those are certainly words I can believe” he says before drinking from his flask. “Cadet Jaeger, what do you say?” He asks Eren. “Can you plug the hole?”

“Well… uhh… I’m not sure. I understand this ability as much as the rest of you. It feels irresponsible to try to give a definite answer to that question.” Eren replies, sounding guilty.

“Apologies, I asked the wrong question. Rather, will you plug that hole?” Pyxis asks. You watch the resolve take over Eren’s face as he turns back to the lost territory of Wall Maria.

“I’ll do it! I don’t know if I can plug that hole, but I’ll do it!” He replies confidently, turning back towards you all. Resolve courses through your body as well. It seems there’s actually a plan to come up with now.

-

Pyxis and Eren are discussing something on the other side of the wall. Meanwhile, you and some Garrison soldiers are huddled around a diagram, Armin taking you through his idea.

“There’s no need to fight the titans?” A soldier asks him, puzzled.

“Sorry to interrupt! I know I’m still a cadet” Armin says fearfully.

“It’s fine. Continue”

“Right. Normally, Titans respond to large groups by following them. If we use a large group to lure them to the edge of the wall, we can keep titans away from Eren without having to fight. Then, we can kill those titans with cannon fire. However, we can’t leave Eren alone, so a small elite squad should go with him to kill any stray titans until he plugs the wall.” It’s a well thought out plan. The kid is smart. “This is all based on the assumption that Eren can seal that hole. I do have my doubts about carrying out this plan with so little information.”

“Agreed” you say, and eyes turn towards you. “We don’t have a lot of information - this is all one big ‘if’. But I understand Commander Pyxis’ view. Plus, the Survey Corps know that things won’t change unless we take risks and gambles.” You say, thinking of Commander Erwin. Him and Armin would get on well.

“Yes. One main issue is time. Titans are still entering Trost as we speak. The more that enter, the harder it will be to retake the city.” Another soldier says.

“Plus the chances of Wall Rose being breached goes up as well” the male soldier mutters, eyes trained on the paper in front of you.

“And there’s one issue. People will only be driven by fear for so long. We need to act fast.” You say, and the group nods. It’s time to put the plan into action.

-

You’re landing on a roof in Trost. You convinced Pyxis that you were capable of fighting and had already done so earlier, and he agreed that your skills would be helpful to the elite squad. Your mission is simple - protect Eren, and eliminate any titans that pose an immediate threat. Rico fired up a green flare to signal the start of the mission, and Eren zooms towards the boulder before biting down on his hand. A huge yellow light blinds your vision, and Eren’s titan form stands in the streets. Good start.

It’s about 8 seconds before things go downhill.

Eren turns around to face Mikasa, before suddenly throwing a punch at her, which she barely dodges. Ian runs towards her as Eren throws another punch, which she manages to dodge again, before latching onto Eren and looking him straight in the eye, talking to him despite Ian yelling at her to get down. Rico shoots up a red signal flare, telling the brass that there’s a failure with the mission. Right after that, Eren punches himself in the face to get Mikasa off, but she jumps off beforehand at Ian’s warning, and Eren collapses next to the boulder. You stare at him in despair. There’s no hope of plugging the wall and recapturing Trost without him, but no one can get through to him.

“Titans approaching!” Someone yells, diverting everyone’s attention. There’s an argument as soldiers tell Ian to order withdrawal and give up on Eren (which Mikasa doesn’t seem very on board with). Eventually, Ian holds back Mikasa and orders the others to engage their teams to take down the titans. It seems he’s not ready to give up on Eren. After another heated argument, you go with Ian’s team and take down one of the titans alone. As you land on a different rooftop, you spot Armin on top of Eren. He looks like he’s speaking to him, and it’s getting Eren to react. Before long, Eren has stood up and picked up the boulder, and is now carrying it to the gate.

“Defend him! Even if it costs your life, Eren must reach the gate! Do not let any titan near him!” Ian yells, and you jump off the roof to tackle the titans in the area. You can’t believe this. Not only is there a titan on your side, but you’re moments away from witnessing humanity’s first win over the titans. Everyone is more willing than ever to lay down their lives for Eren right now, yourself included. This is a major turning point in humankind, and you’re all here to ensure it works out.

Around you, soldiers are screaming, dying, and titans are crashing to the ground, all for what’s about to come. You turn your head to the gate, watching Rico take out the eye of a titan before Mikasa kills it. All Eren has to do now is drop the boulder in the gate and-

He did it. Eren plugged the hole in the wall. For the first time ever, humans took back territory from titans.

Trost has been reclaimed. All that’s left is cleanup.

You drop to your knees, tears pooling your eyes as Rico sends up a yellow smoke flare to signal mission success. Today is a huge day that will go down in history.

Tears stream down your face as you push to your feet and prepare to head up the wall, when you stop. Armin, Eren, Mikasa and Rico are seconds away from being grabbed by a Titan by the disappearing remains of Eren’s form. You’re about to engage your gear when you notice a familiar figure fly at incredible speed and slice out its nape, the Wings of Freedom on his back soaring through the air. He lands atop the Titan corpse before looking back at the others, saying something to them before turning back to the city, his eyes landing on you and widening.

Levi.

You’ve barely processed his presence before he’s shooting towards you and landing in front of you. You straighten as he steps in front of you.

“What the fuck are you doing out here Wren? There are titans fucking everywhere!” He says. He brings his hands to cup your jaw, thumbs stroking away your tears. The gesture warms your heart and startles you as more tears slip out. Levi stands back to check your body for injuries as you open your mouth to respond, hands dropping from your face.

“I’ll explain everything later, sir. I’m fine though, no injuries.” You reply, voice shaky. He’s meets your eyes, his familiar grey ones filled with emotions, too many to count. He nods, before he shoots back towards the wall without another word. You bring your fingers to your face, tracing lightly over where his thumbs ran over your skin.

You’re fucked.

-

“Thank you Wren, that’s all” Commander Erwin says when you’ve finished giving your report. You salute him before leaving the office and turning down the hall to head towards your room. It’s late at night, and it’s been an exhausting day. Not only did you have to receive the findings and updates from the expedition you missed, but had to give a full report on the events of the Battle for Trost, as well as apologies and why you were engaged in combat despite the Commander’s orders. You want nothing more than to shower and collapse in bed.

Since there are still titans to be killed in Trost, the Survey Corps are staying at barracks next to the wall, you and your squadmates included. You’re about to climb the stairs to the rooms when you hear a voice from behind you.

“Oi. Wren” you turn towards him, eyes landing on Levi.

“Yes sir?” you ask.

“I take it you’ve given Erwin your report” he states. It’s clearly not a question, but you respond with a “yes, sir” regardless. “So then, you wanna tell me why the fuck you were out on the frontlines back there?” He asks, and you can feel his anger rising.

“They needed as many elite soldiers as possible to pull off the mission. I was cleared by the doctors for active combat, and Commander Pyxis agreed that it would be a waste not to put an experienced, capable soldier like me on the frontlines of such an important operation.” You reply calmly. You sort of understand his anger - you were ordered not to engage in combat today. It’s the whole reason you were there in Trost. But equally, he must understand your reasoning. It was an all hands on deck situation - he must get that.

“So you decide to just go against what me and Erwin told you?” He continues before you have a chance to defend yourself, voice never rising but tone sharp. “I bet you didn’t even think about how fucking worried I was when I saw you sobbing on your knees in the middle of an active battlefield, did you?”

You’re stunned silent by that. He’s right. You didn’t think about the consequences when the Survey Corps returned. You didn’t think about making anyone worry. You suddenly feel a bit guilty for rushing into battle the first chance you got without thinking about how your comrades would react if something had happened.

“I thought you were hurt, Wren” he says sternly, gaze never faltering from yours. “I thought your leg was re-injured, or that something else had happened whilst I wasn’t with you. I was fucking terrified that I had let you down again.” Both your eyes widen at that. You’re stunned by his take, and he looks as if he hadn’t even meant to say it. He looks away.

“Captain” you say after a beat. “If something had happened to me out there today, that wouldn’t have been your fault. I made the decision to go into battle today, knowing the risks, and ultimately I chose to become a soldier knowing the risks as well. I didn’t just come here for a ticket out of the Underground. I want to fight the titans. I want to see humanity win, and I want to be a part of the victory. The same way it wouldn’t have been your fault if I got hurt today, what happened 6 months ago wasn’t your fault either.” He meets your gaze again at that, and you continue. You can tell he’s needed to hear this from you since that day. You cross your arms before continuing. “I made the choice to go off alone, knowing full well a titan could approach at any time. You trained me well, but things happen out there that we can’t control. That’s how this life works. What happened that day wasn’t the fault of any one person, especially you. I need you to understand that.” You say, voice soft. His eyes look so pretty in the dim lighting. Your own trace over each of his features, landing on his full pink lips before tearing your gaze back to his eyes, hoping he didn’t notice your staring. Your heart is pounding, your pulse racing. Levi doesn’t respond this time, he just nods before walking towards you and bringing his hand up to your head, ruffling your hair slightly.

“Get some sleep, Wren. We’ll take it easy tomorrow. Up and ready by 8” he says before lowering his hand and walking away, up the stairs towards the rooms, leaving you stood alone with a racing heart and racing mind. You take a deep breath to try and calm your pounding heart.

You really are fucked.

Chapter Text

It’s 6:45 and you finished your run in 30 minutes. As you bend over to catch your breath, you feel a pair of eyes on the back of your head. You straighten up and turn around, finding Levi’s eyes on you and him walking towards you. You brush your hair out of your sweaty face and assume a salute as he gets closer.

“Good morning sir.” You say, your breath still heaving slightly from your run. He grunts in response.

“At ease. Change of plans for today. We’re going to Mitras for Eren’s trial. Erwin wants you along in case the MPs start making shit up since you were there in Trost. Shower and breakfast, we’re leaving at 7:30.” He says. You nod in response, stretching out your leg, and he walks back towards the barracks. You finish your stretches and walk back inside to shower. Once you’re done, you change into your uniform and head down to the mess hall. You don’t have long until you need to meet Levi outside, so you decide against food and make a cup of tea instead. You suddenly feel a pair of arms wrap around your middle, and you startle, nearly dropping the cup.

“Petra! You scared the shit out of me!” You giggle, hugging your best friend back.

“It feels like forever since we got to spend a day training together.” She grumbles as you both sit at a nearby table.

“I know, hopefully next week everything will be normal again.” You respond. Petra’s brow furrows as she looks at you.

“Why next week? Are we not training today?” She questions, and you worry for a moment if you were meant to tell her. Oh, well. Can’t go back now.

“Yeah, plans changed for the day. And probably the next few days. I’m going up to Mitras with the Captain and Commander, and probably Hange too. They’re doing a trial for Eren and the Commander says he wants my testimony.” You explain, sipping your tea.

“Eren, like the boy who turned titan and plugged Trost?” She asks, and you nod. There’s a moment of silence before Petra speaks again. “How long will you guys be gone?”

“Probably a week and a bit. It’s like 4 days from here to Mitras by carriage, plus a day for the trial.” You say after a beat. You narrow your eyes at the cheeky look Petra gives you. “What’s with that look?”

“Nothing.” She says, grinning. You don’t buy it.

“Cmon, tell me what you’re thinking” you plead, and she laughs before she opens her mouth again, glancing around the room and leaning in.

“Fine, fine! I’m just thinking that Captain Levi will be pretty happy you’re coming along with them if it’ll be that long” she says in a hushed tone, her grin widening. Your jaw drops and your face burns as you try to form a response.

“I have no clue what you mean” you stammer. You’re not sure what’s got you so flustered. Does the thought that Levi might enjoy your presence really make you this happy? That’s absurd, right?

“Oh come on Wren, I have eyes you know. I see how he acts around you. I stare at him a lot, I would know. Plus that panic attack. Does he seem like the type to do that for anyone ?” She teases, and your brain spins. You hadn’t read too far into that, but was it weird how he handled that?

“Maybe. He cares about his comrades. I’m sure he’d have done the same had it been anyone else. And besides-“ you start, but you’re cut off by a booming voice from the other end of the mess hall. You whip your head around and are faced with your glaring captain, his anger directed at you.

“Oi, Wren! Get out here, now!” Levi yells, before turning and storming outside. You scramble up, giving Petra a quick hug before speeding out the mess hall and towards the carriages. Levi’s standing next to one, and he looks pissed. Shit.

“Sorry sir, lost track of time.” You say before attempting to climb into the carriage, but Levi sticks his arm out to block your path.

“We need you focused if we’re going to pull this off. Don’t get distracted by anyone or anything. Am I clear?” He says, giving you a pointed look. You nod in response before he lets you pass, and you sit down with him opposite, wondering what he means by needing you to “pull this off”. Is it about Eren?

You sit in silence for a few minutes, listening to the carriage jolt along the path, before curiosity gets the better of you.

“What exactly do you need me to pull off, sir?”

He sighs before giving an answer. “Erwin’s hoping to get custody of Eren and bring him into the Survey Corps” your brows shoot up your head and you note Levi’s exasperated expression. “Yeah, I know. It sounds fucking insane, but that’s how Erwin is. The MPs will also be trying to get their filthy hands on Eren, so we have a few strategies to implement if things start to go south. All you need to worry about is making your testimony good. Keep the truth there, but don’t say anything that could jeopardise things.” You nod in response and Levi leaned back in his seat, resting his head against the window next to him. You don’t know what compels you to speak again.

“Did you not sleep well sir?” You ask, immediately cursing your mouth for leaking your thoughts, even though you’ve been curious since that day he helped you sleep after a nightmare. Levi lifts his head and meets your gaze, not allowing his eyes to betray his emotions.

“Nothing new.” He says. You can tell he’s keeping it short, but you decide to press him a little to see if he’ll open up.

“Is there any particular reason?” You ask quietly, hoping you haven’t overstepped. Levi doesn’t answer straight away, instead dragging his gaze across your features, analysing you, as if trying to deduce your intentions. After a long pause, you open your mouth to apologise, but his voice cuts off yours.

“I grew up in a rough area. Sleeping left you vulnerable. But mainly… nightmares.” He says quietly, holding your gaze. You start to see vulnerability speckled in his grey irises. You also notice how his gaze has softened since you entered the carriage, and Petra’s words filter through your mind.

“I see how he acts with you”

Is this what she means?

Levi takes a long moment before continuing. You don’t say anything in the meantime, allowing him to share as much or as little as he wants.

“When I joined the Scouts, I wasn’t alone. Erwin recruited me with two other people. We had been together for years, but they died on our first expedition. I guess… fuck. I guess they just haunt me. I feel responsible for what happened.” His voice is almost a whisper by the end, and he’s brought his hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose gently. You can tell he isn’t going to continue, so you try to come up with something even mildly comforting to say.

“The likelihood of surviving your first expedition is about 50%. The fact that they died isn’t your fault in any way. None of us can conform or predict how titans move, not even you. It’s not your fault, Levi.” You say firmly, only realising you  called him by his name instead of title too late. His eyes widen slightly, and his eyes flash quickly, but he doesn’t scold you. Instead, he remains quiet, eyes searching yours. You both sit like that for a while, staring into each other’s eyes, before you can’t take the tension anymore and break eye contact, gazing out the window. When you look back a few minutes later, Levi’s resting his head on the opposite window, eyes closed. You wonder if he’s dozed off, and your heart swells as you remember what he said minutes ago.

Maybe he feels safe with you. You hope so. You’d be glad it’s mutual.

-

When the carriage stops for a rest, Levi doesn’t stir. You’re surprised, given what he told you. You figured he’d be an extremely light sleeper. He must really feel safe. You gaze at his sleeping figure, taking in his features again. You never get tired of looking at him. His bangs cover his eyes slightly; his hair looks soft - you have a strange want to run your fingers through it. His full lips are slightly parted as he breathes evenly. He’s so handsome it’s honestly unfair.

You don’t bother trying to wake him. He’s probably exhausted and you can’t hear anyone coming to your carriage. Plus, he’s still Captain Levi. Who knows how terrifying he is if you wake him up. You shudder at the thought of him scolding you here. Definitely not worth it. Instead, you settle deeper into your seat with a sigh, hugging one knee and turning to the side to rest your head on the back wall. These seats are honestly pretty comfy with their cushioning, and watching Levi look so peaceful is enough to send you drifting to sleep as the carriage starts to move again.

Your eyes shoot open to the carriage jolting violently. You launch your hand out to grab the back of the chair to steady yourself, but just miss it and you go flying off the seat with a small yelp. Before you can hit the floor fully, Levi’s hand grips your upper arm, halting your body before you crash into the floor. You don’t have a chance to say anything before he tugs you up off the floor, sitting you next to him rather than in your seat across from him.

“Tch, you’re clumsy” he says, but you can tell from his voice he’s not mad. You pout in response, abandoning all professionalism. It’s just the two of you in here, and you think he feels comfortable enough with you to leave the formalities a little. His lips quirk, but they don’t pull into a smile. The air thickens, and you’re suddenly very aware of how close you’re sat to him, his hand on your arm. You picture that hand trailing further up, across your shoulder, down to your chest, squeezing your-

NOPE.

You can’t be thinking like that about your captain. You attempt to quash those thoughts, blinking yourself out of the haze and meeting Levi’s eyes. His brow is quirked - he must have noticed you zoning out. You try not to blush as he searches through your eyes.

“What are you thinking?” He asks, voice low. You gulp, your throat feeling dry all of a sudden.

“Nothing really” you answer quietly. He doesn’t look like he bought that answer.

“Cmon Wren. I can’t read minds, you know. You have to talk to me.” He says, eyes soft, and you note the slight concern lacing his voice.

“There’s really nothing you need to worry about sir. I swear.” You search your mind for a new topic before Levi notices your sudden shift. “When did you wake up?” you ask.

“Only a few minutes before you.” He says, finally releasing your arm. You feel like you can breathe again, even though your skin is still on fire from his touch. “Have we stopped yet?” He asks.

“Yeah, about an hour after you fell asleep. I didn’t want to wake you, sorry” you say with a small smile.

“Don’t be. I’m surprised I could sleep at all. I appreciate it” he says quietly, avoiding your gaze. You hum in response, gazing at his pretty side profile. Are you going crazy, or are his ears kinda red??

You’re both silent for the rest of the ride, enjoying the view out the window as you travel through Wall Rose. You don’t go back to your seat. Eventually, you stop for the night in a small village. The villagers gave up spare rooms, but you had all set up a small fire to cook food earlier, which is where you’re sat now, catching up with Hange after what feels like forever.

“When was the last time we got to talk like this?” You say, coming down from a fit of laughter. You really had missed Hange.

“Feels like ages, since that short stack decided the barracks aren’t good enough and took you guys away from me” Hange says with a mock pout. You smack her arm gently, giggling from her comment on Levi’s height.

“At least the training is good”

“Oh my gosh, you rode here in his carriage, did you?” Hange suddenly asks, and you nod. “Damn, that must’ve sucked. I’ll force Erwin and Miche in with him and you come share with me from now. You shouldn’t have to suffer like that” she says sympathetically.

“I appreciate the offer, but he’s not that bad. It’s not like we’re training, so he has no reason to be harsh with me or anything like that. We spent half the time asleep or silent anyways, so there’s no issue. Plus I doubt he’d agree to you rearranging things now.” you say, and Hange’s eyes widen as she shoots up from the ground.

“WHAT?!” She yells, drawing unimpressed looks from around you. You tug her back down to sit with you again.

“Shh, Hange. People are sleeping! What’s so shocking, anyway?” You scold. Hange is still slack jawed.

“When you say “ we slept”, do you mean just you or both of you?” Hange asks, voice suddenly much quieter. A strange feeling swirls in your gut. You’re not sure where this conversation is headed.

“‘We’ means both of us, no?” You say. Hange looks at you thoughtfully before responding.

“Wren, in the past 3 years, he’s only fallen asleep around someone once, and that was when Erwin forced him to take sleeping pills to try and fix his fucked up sleep schedule and he passed out in his office when we were all doing paperwork.” She says slowly. Your lip quirks at the thought of Erwin drugging Levi like that, but you push it away.

“What’s your point?” You ask Hange.

“Honey, he must trust you with his life to do that.” She says, and your brows shoot up to your hairline.

“WHAT?” It’s your turn to yell, earning you heavy shushes. You lower your voice before continuing. “Hange, that’s a bit extreme, don’t you think? He said he just didn’t sleep well last night, so it makes sense he would be tired enough to sleep.” You defend. You’re not sure why the thought of Levi trusting you so much has you so worked up, but you can feel the heat creeping up your face.

Hange doesn’t respond. She just looks at you thoughtfully before abruptly standing up and looking down at you.

“Well! I’m tired so I’m going to sleep. Goodnight Wren!” She says cheerfully before speeding away towards her room. You gape at her fading figure, before stamping out the fire and heading towards your room.

You’re all spread across only two houses - Hange, Levi and you are in one, and Erwin and Miche in the other. You toss and turn for an hour, Hange’s words flitting through your mind, not letting you sleep.

“He must trust you with his life”

There’s no way, right?

-

Levi’s POV

“Enough, Hange. It’s late. Get the fuck out of my room” Levi sighs, but Hange makes no effort to leave.

“You slept earlier Levi! With her right there! You’ve never willingly done that before around anyone!” Hange whisper shouts. By some miracle, she’s actually considerate of the fact that not only is everyone else asleep, but your room is also on the other side of his wall.

“What’s your point?” Levi asks as he brings his teacup to his lips, piercing gaze drilling holes through Hange’s eyes. He doesn’t enjoy being interrogated, especially about you. God knows he got enough of that after that expedition.

“My point, short stack, is that I know why you don’t sleep around anyone. Or at all, for that matter, but that’s a whole different issue. So for you to suddenly feel comfortable enough around Wren is surprising! Plus there was that expedition-“

“Did you want me to let her bleed the fuck out?” Levi snaps, cutting Hange off. He doesn’t like when she does this. It makes him face his feelings, and it fucking scares him.

Hange brushes it off. He’s always like this, she knows it’s nothing personal. She continues with a shit eating grin. “Look Levi, it’s clear that you have a soft spot for her, and I think that’s so great!” She continues, ignoring his deathly glare. “So why do you still try to keep her at a distance, when you know that girl’s heart is big enough to let you in?” She asks, and Levi wants to strangle her for asking the one thing he didn’t want to hear. How’s he meant to explain that he’s the reason the last few years of your life have been shit? Levi averts his gaze, staring off towards the wall instead. Do you know it was him? No, you wouldn’t act so friendly if you did. He’s noticed you scanning his features multiple times, but he’s pretty sure you haven’t figured him out. He knows he needs to tell you - you deserve to know - but he chickens out every time he pictures the look of devastation he’s certain will be on your face. So instead, he tries to keep you at a distance to selfishly save himself the agony.

Yet, that proves to be a different kind of agony. He thinks back to earlier in the carriage, when he sat you next to him. He couldn’t help wanting you closer. He’d wanted to move his hand across your body, wanted to you say his name again. It sounded like sweet honey coming from your lips.

Your lips.

Yesterday, he felt a fear he hadn’t in months when he saw you in Trost. He thought something had happened again, that he’d failed you again. When he talked to you about it, you’d been so understanding. You’d known exactly what to say to put him at ease, and you looked so fucking pretty in that moonlight, he’d wanted to kiss you right there. He’d wanted to say fuck it and slam his lips to yours as if he had any right to have you like that. He wanted you in every way possible, something he’d never felt about any person before, especially after seeing what it did to his mother.

But this wasn’t just pure lust - he’s falling for you.

He’d been convinced he was incapable of these feelings, but then you showed up and bulldozed that belief with your radiant smile and carefree laughter. It took him the last seven months to even begin to come to terms with what he feels about you, and he still doesn’t understand it well. What he does understand is that he has no right to be happy because of you, not after what he made you go through in the Underground.

He can’t have you. And he knows that.

So, when he meets Hange’s expectant eyes, he masks any emotion with his signature stoic expression, and grunts before sipping his tea. “Who says I need a place?” It’s a shit attempt at shutting Hange up that doesn’t work at all.

“WHAT?!” She yells, and he shoots her a glare that’s enough to shut her up, eyes widening slightly. He hopes that didn’t wake you up. “Sorry! Anyways, what’s this bullshit? You obviously care about her, more than the way you care about your squad members. I don’t know what’s stopping you or scaring you or whatever, but you need to stop denying your feelings and do something. You deserve to feel happy and safe, Levi, no matter what you may think.” Hange says softly. Levi really is grateful to her sometimes. She always tries her best with him, no matter how rude or unresponsive he is, and he can’t blame her for not understanding his situation here. A moment passes where the pair sit in silence, before Hange gets up to leave.

“Look, Levi. You don’t need to worry about losing her. She’s strong, and you’ve trained her well. You also don’t need to worry about rejection, because I can tell she cares for you too. You deserve to have friends who love you, so don’t bother pushing them away.” She says before she leaves, closing the door behind her and leaving Levi to sit in their conversation.

He doesn’t sleep a wink.

-

The next morning, you’re all on the road again by 6am. It’s still another few days until you’ll all arrive in Mitras for the trial. You’re told Eren is in a holding cell in the Royal Court until trial. Since you’re just travelling for the next two days, no one is wearing their uniform. You’re wearing a tight black long sleeve and black joggers. You’ll be sat in the carriage all day, so it makes sense to prioritise comfort. You haul your bag back into the cart before making your way to the carriage. Levi’s already in there, wearing a grey button down with the sleeves rolled up his forearms and black dress trousers. He looks unfairly attractive, and you fight the urge to sit next to him, taking your place opposite instead. Something flashes across his eyes, but it’s gone before you can figure out what it is. You shut the door and settle into your seat.

“Morning, Captain” you say, trying to diffuse the oddly awkward atmosphere.

“Morning” he responds, his deep voice rumbling through the air. You fight off a shiver at the sound.

“Sleep well?” You ask. Levi sighs, crossing his arms.

“Not really. You?” He responds. You barely slept at all, honestly. You couldn’t keep him off your mind.

“Same, honestly. Looking forward to this trial being over.” You sigh, stretching your arms above your head as the carriage begins to roll. It’s a good excuse.

“Agreed.” He huffs. “Erwin’s convinced the MPs are gonna pull some bullshit, told me I have to be ready to take ‘extreme measures’ to get the Titan brat.”

You raise a brow at that. “Define ‘extreme measures’, cuz that sounds really freaking weird” you say. Levis lip quirks and his eyes flash with mirth. You feel a small swell of pride at making him look so amused.

“In short, kick the shit out of him” Levi says, and your jaw drops. Levi lets out a small chuckle, and your heart leaps. “Erwin thinks the MPs will propose taking Eren for experiments, so he wants me to prove that I can handle him, whilst also giving the impression that he won’t have an easy life with us either, on top of the constant threat of death on expedition.” He explains.

You spend the rest of the day chatting with Levi about Eren, the trial and Erwin’s plans for the 57th expedition. Everything rides on the outcome on this trial. The day flies by, and it’s not long before you’re stopped again for the night. Things continue like this for the next two days, with you and Levi growing closer each day, when the day of the trial arrives.

The carriage is passing through the gates of Mitras, and you avert your eyes from the windows as the lavish buildings pass by.

“You okay?” Levi asks, and you look up at him with glossy eyes.

“Yeah, just… old memories” you say. Levi nods in understanding and doesn’t push further. You’re grateful for that.

You haven’t been in Mitras for three years. The people here live a life of luxury, but just below, people live in abandonment, darkness and poverty. The Underground City is overlooked by most up here, or turned away from in disgust. When you left with Hange, people looked at you in horror and fear, as if you were some vermin or criminal. The people here have no sympathy for the hardships the people of the Underground have to endure, and it makes you sick. This place brings nothing but foul memories, especially knowing that the Underground is right below your feet.

The carriage rolls to a stop outside the Royal Court, and you push your feelings down, climbing out onto the street behind Levi. It’s not the time to think back on your past.

Now is the time to look to the future.

You’re back in your uniform now, and you follow the Commander into the court next to Hange and Levi. He turns to face you all.

“Right. We’re going to split up here. Levi, you’re coming with me to talk to Eren. Hange, Miche, you’re on standby until it’s time to bring Eren into the courtroom. Wren, head straight to the courtroom. Stay by the cadets that were summoned in to testify as well. We’ll give you a signal during the trial; that’s when you’re going to offer a testimony that will convince them to hand over Eren.” You nod, and you all salute before going your separate ways.

You make your way through the maze of hallways before coming to a pair of wooden doors. You pull them open, revealing a grand courtroom. The ceiling is painted, depicting a war between humans. Strange. In front of you, the wall displays the symbols of the three regiments, as well as the cadet corps.

You glance around the stand, looking for the cadets. On the right are the MPs, with their commander, Nile Dok, as well as priests of the Church of Walls, and the left has Survey Corps, Garrison and 2 cadet soldiers, along with Commander Pyxis. Civilians line the benches above you. You make your way towards the front, where you see Mikasa and Armin.

“Armin, Mikasa.” You say, catching their attention. They salute you and you nod at them before hopping over the railing. Rico nods in greeting, which you return.

“Were you summoned as well?” Armin asks, and you nod. You see Levi and Erwin come in and take their places, with Levi directly to your left. You exchange nods before the door swings open, and Eren is pushed through, two MPs trailing behind him. As he kneels in the centre of the room, you see Hange and Miche take their place in the stands above.

Premier Darius Zachary enters and takes his seat. The trial has begun.

You listen as Nile proposes examining Eren’s body, before disposing of him. Just like Erwin thought. You listen as a pastor of the Church raises his voice before being shushed again. They’ve recently gained much influence. Finally, it’s time for the Survey Corps to give their proposal. You wait for Erwin to launch into his usual riveting speech, sure to convince Zachary.

“We intend to accept Eren into the Survey Corps and use his ability to retake Wall Maria. That is all” Erwin says, voice level. Well that wasn’t exactly what you were expecting. You remind yourself that Erwin has backup plans, although you’d rather not watch Eren get beat up by Levi. Murmurs break out throughout the courtroom as Zachary asks Erwin about his plan to use Eren to retake Wall Maria. A civilian cries out about sealing all the walls to stop the Colossal Titan breaking through again, and another counters with hope of returning to Wall Maria. Before an argument can ensue, Levi cuts in.

“You have a big mouth, you piece of shit” he says, glaring across the room. Your eyes widen slightly at his blunt phrasing. “What guarantees that the titans will kindly sit and wait for us to seal all the gates? When you say “we”, you mean you and your filthy friends so you can fatten yourselves up. Are you pigs blind to the ones struggling to survive off what little land is left?” You’re surprised at his calm outburst. It makes you wonder about his life before the military. Where in the Walls did he grow up? He said Erwin’s recruited him with two others. Does that mean they were sought out specifically by the commander?

The civilian defends his point in a shaky voice, earning him a lecture from the pastor. You roll your eyes. You’re all for letting people believe what you want, but the Church of the Walls is no less than a cult. You hear Armin whisper from your right.

“They’re the reason it took so long to arm on top of the walls” he says.

“They have lots of support and power now” Rico responds.

“They’re a troublesome group.” You sigh, and the others hum in approval. Zachary slams his desk, calling the courtroom to order, before addressing Eren.

“This report says that after transforming in Trost, you swung your firsts at Mikasa Ackerman.” You hear Mikasa’s breath hitch, and Eren’s head whips round towards her. He looks so shocked, you wonder if he somehow doesn’t remember.

“Did you want me to lie in a report? Hiding this wouldn’t help anyone” Rico hisses in her defence. You suppress a sigh. You can’t be mad at Rico for doing her job, but it makes things a lot harder for you all. You look back at Eren as Mikasa is called on.

“Yes, it’s true he attacked me in titan form.” She murmurs, and Eren’s eyes widen in fear. You wonder what their relationship is like. You glance at Levi, whose face is unreadable as always. All you can do is wait for Erwin to give you a signal.

“However, he also saved my life twice in his titan form.” Mikasa adds. “I ask that you consider that fact as well.”

“Wait a moment!” Nile cuts in. “I believe her testimony is driven by personal feelings!” You arch a brow, eyes widening when you hear that Mikasa was raised as an adoptive sister to Eren after her parents died. “Additionally, Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman, both aged nine, stabbed three adult robber-kidnappers to death.” Gasps emerge in the room, and your body stiffens. It’s going to be really hard to convince them Eren isn’t a threat. You almost hope Erwin doesn’t ask for your help. The air shifts as people begin to accuse Mikasa, and Eren lashes out.

“She has nothing to do with this! Leave her out of it!” He yells. A short shouting match erupts between Eren and the civilians, before he bangs at his chains, silencing the room.

“It’s not like that. You’re all speculating to push your selfish agendas! None of you have ever even seen a titan, so what are you so scared of?! What’s the point in power if you don’t use it to fight? If you’re afraid, then leave it to me! You cowards! Just shut up and put your faith in me!” He screams. The room stays silent for a beat, before Nile orders his soldiers to aim at Eren. You barely even register Levi hopping over the railing before he’s slamming his boot into the side of Eren’s face, sending a tooth flying across the room.

Oh right. That plan.

Levi delivers a blow to Eren’s stomach, before grabbing him by the hair and slamming his knee into his face. You wince as Levi beats the fuck out of Eren, and Mikasa moves to jump over the railings to stop him, but Armin grabs her. Eren is bleeding everywhere at this point, and Levi stands over him, foot on his head, nose shrivelled in disgust. Clean freak.

“Personally, I believe pain is the best way to install discipline. What you need” he says to Eren “is to be taught a lesson. And right now, you’re in the perfect kicking position.” He continues to kick Eren, and the court is stunned into silence before Nile speaks.

“Wait Levi.” He says, voice shaky.

“What?” Levi grunts, boot in Eren’s face.

“It’s dangerous” Nile responds. “What if he turns titan?”

Levi kicks Eren again. “Don’t be silly. Don’t you want to dissect him?” He says, grabbing Eren by the hair. “In his titan form, he killed 20 titans before he ran out of strength. His intelligence makes him all the more dangerous as an opponent. Even so, I’d have no problem handling him. Can you say the same? Can you actually kill him like I can?”

“Of course! We all graduated top of our class? The question is can you really handle him?!” An MP blurts out. You stifle a chuckle at his feeble attempt to downplay Levi’s ability. Anyone in the Walls knows he’s Humanity’s Strongest. You glance at Erwin, and when you see a slight nod, you take it as approval to proceed.

“I believe I can attest to his ability.” You say confidently, drawing eyes towards you, including Levi’s piercing gaze.

“And who may you be?” Nile asks

“Wrenley Mukrid sir. I’ve served in Captain Levi’s Special Operations Squad for a number of months now. I’ve seen him in action many times and can personally guarantee that he will have no problems with Eren Jaeger. What’s more, I can attest to Eren not only having control in his titan form, but harbouring no malicious intent towards humans, unlike regular titans. I was in Trost myself. If this wasn’t the case, we never would have recaptured Trost, and we wouldn’t be here now.” You finish, turning towards Zachary. Erwin wastes no time in offering a modified proposal made possible by you and Levi.

“We will place Eren directly under Captain Levi’s watch and go on expedition. Based on the results of the mission, you can decide if Eren truly does have control in his titan form, thus if his existence will benefit humanity.”

“Hm… can you do this, Levi?” Zachary asks.

“Oh, I can definitely kill him. The real issue is there’s no middle ground.” You can hear Mikasa barely holding in her anger, and Levi throws a glance in her direction, eyes narrowed but face blank.

“Then I’ve made a decision. Eren is to be entrusted to the Survey Corps, directly under Captain Levi.” Zachary says before banging his gavel. Your shoulders sag in relief. You can’t believe this plan actually worked.

-

You’re climbing back into a carriage with the Captain, landing on your seat with a huff. After court was dismissed, you all took Eren to a separate room to treat his injuries and explain why Levi did as he did. Eren confirmed there were no hard feelings involved, but the real event was that Eren’s tooth has already regrown, and his wounds are healing rapidly. As a medic, you’re in disbelief that he can heal injuries within minutes. What a neat ability.

“I’m so fucking glad that’s over” you sigh as you pull the door shut. Levi leans back and swings one leg over the other.

“Me too. And we somehow got the brat. Although that Ackerman brat is weirdly protective. Question is how to proceed from here” he says.

“No sense worrying about that now. Right now, I just want to get back to the barracks, shower, and ride out to this old HQ.” You grumble, ignoring his comment about Mikasa.

“Don’t get too excited. Place will be filthy. You’re not resting until it’s spotless.” Levi reminds you, lifting an amused brow when you pout at him. This whole ordeal has brought the two of you closer together, and you hope you can continue to grow closer without sacrificing your professionalism.

You fall asleep not long into the ride, and Levi lets his eyes wander over your features, taking you in fully without risk of being caught. You’re so beautiful.

But he won’t ever have you. He knows this. He doesn’t deserve to, either. So why does that hurt him so much?

-

You step out of the carriage back at the barracks and are immediately enveloped in a bear hug.

“Petra!” You squeal, hugging her back tightly. “I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too! Never leave for that long again, and with Hange too! I’ve been so bored all week. I’ve had to talk to Oluo at meals!” She groans, and you laugh.

“Lucky him. He totally has a thing for you, you know” you giggle as you both start to walk away.

“Shut up, he does not!” She giggles back, and you both continue to tease each other as you head back into the barracks.

“So I heard we’re being relocated?” Petra asks as you walk up the stairs towards your rooms.

“Yeah, part of the agreement to let us have Eren. Pretty sure we’re riding out now so let’s head out front.” You say, and Petra agrees. You both gather your things before heading back outside to the stables. Levi, Eren and the rest of the squad are already in there. You catch up with your comrades as you ready your horse, and Levi turns to quickly brief everyone before you set off. It’s not a particularly long ride, and it isn’t long before you’re all slowly moving into castle property.

As you get closer to the grounds, Oluo begins talking to Eren.

“Don’t get cocky, kid. You may be a titan, but don’t assume Captain Levi’s just gonna stick with some snotty brat like-“ a gurgles scream erupts form his mouth as his horse jolts and he bites down hard on his tongue. You wince at the blood before rolling your eyes at his stupidity and speeding up a little, leaving your place between Petra and Levi to get up to him.

“Talking on a horse like that is honestly asking for it, Oluo” you sigh as you dump some water on a cloth and hand it to him. “Keep this pressed to your tongue and lean forwards so you don’t choke. Rinse your mouth out with saltwater once we dismount” you instruct, and he nods. You can hear Petra stifling giggles behind you, and you have to breathe deeply to stop yourself laughing. Eren observes you all with confusion, but you can tell how wary he is of the Captain.

When you dismount, you lead your horse to the stable before taking Oluo to the well. You prepare saltwater for him and have him rinse his mouth out before giving him a fresh cloth.

“First impressions are important. The kid was scared stiff” Oluo says to you and Petra in an attempt to justify his idiocy.

“Probably by how dumb you are” Petra says, and you giggle. The two of them have such a hilarious relationship.

“Whatever. It went exactly as planned” Oluo grumbles, and you and Petra exchange a confused but knowing look.

“Hey Oluo” you start. “You never used to talk like this”

“We must be wrong” Petra continues; you guys are on the exact same wavelength right now. “But if you’re trying imitate Captain Levi right now, could you cut it out?” Petra asks with a disturbed expression. “You’re nothing like him”

“Are you nagging me Petra?” Oluo asks, and you snicker. “If you’re gonna act like my wife, there’s more to be done first.”

Petra makes a gagging noise, and you burst out laughing at their antics. “I wish you’d bitten your tongue off and died” she sighs, and you finally catch your breath after a while. “Bragging about your kill count is so annoying”

“I bragged about you too, don’t you worry” he says, waving her off.

“You’re disgraceful!” Petra groans, and you both turn to leave.

“Watching you guys bicker has to be the best entertainment in the Corps.” You say as you both walk inside.

“Glad someone enjoys his bullshit” she grumbles, and you laugh. You know she appreciates him, regardless of what she says. You look around and sigh. You know there’s no point delaying the inevitable, and you can already hear Levi getting ready outside. You turn to Petra with a weak smile.

“I guess we should get started” you say, and Petra groans before nodding.

-

Hours later, the entire place is spotless, and you’re all sat around the table, drinking tea and discussing the vague plans for the next expedition. It’s supposed to be a month from now, meaning any 104th graduates that choose the Survey Corps will participate.

“How does this ability even work, Eren?” Eld asks. You can tell curiosity is eating at your comrades since they didn’t witness it.

“My memories aren’t very clear, but it’s like being in a trance. I know that the trigger is self harm, though. I bite down on my hand and…” Eren trails off.

“He bites on his hand and the turns just sort of… appears” you finish. Everyone looks a bit suspicious, which you can understand.

“You all know you won’t get more from him than what’s in the reports.” Levi says, sipping his tea. “Not that she won’t try anyways” he mutters, and you and Petra suppress your giggles, instantly knowing he means Hange. She’s overjoyed that Erwin secured Eren, and you know she’s looking forward to spending hours talking about titans with him. She did the same with you about science and medicine when you were in the cadets and after you graduated. You smile at the memories.

As if in cue, there’s a loud banging at the door before you get up to unlock it.

“Evening, Levi Squad!” Hange says cheerily. “How’s the castle treating you?”

“You’re too early” Levi grumbles, finishing his tea and pushing back his chair.

“I couldn’t help it! Eren, I’m in charge of experimenting on the two captive titans and want your help tomorrow, so I came for your permission.”

“Experiments? What will I do?” Eren asks, and you all groan quietly, knowing what’s to come. You love Hange to death, but her love for titan research is borderline obsessive.

“I’m not in a position to give permission” Eren says, looking at Levi.

“Levi, what do you have planned for him tomorrow?” Hange asks. Levi shoots her a glare, folding his hands on the table.

“Cleaning the garden.” He says, expression serious.

“Perfect! It’s decided then! Eren, I look forward to tomorrow!” Hange says, completely ignoring Levi’s plans. He scoffs and rolls his eyes, and you smile at their relationship. They really are quite close.

“Hey, stop! Don’t ask that!” Oluo hissed at Eren when he asks for details of the experiments, but it’s too late.

“Ah I knew it! I thought you’d be curious enough to ask!” Hange says, voice overflowing with excitement. You all take that as a cue to leave, standing up after Levi and escaping. You can tell it’s going to be a long talk.

“I hope he’s still sane by morning” you mutter to Petra, who laughs and nods.

“I love Hange but she can be so crazy about her titans. She even names them!” Petra says with a shudder. Of course, how could you forget Sawney and Beane.

You both head upstairs towards your room. Since it’s late but everyone is still in uniform, you’re both content to let everyone else shower first and head straight to bed after. You spend the next 40 minutes catching up, and you realise how much you missed her after not even two weeks. You’re glad you won’t be separated again. Eventually, Petra gets up to shower and you head in after her. The water is freezing since you’re the last one, so you quickly soap down your body and rinse your hair, before stepping out and changing. You pat your hair dry and sling the towel around your next before stepping out the bathroom. You close the door to your room and immediately flop onto the bed, exhaustion taking over. It’s moments before you fall asleep.

Chapter Text

"You ready down there, Eren?" Hange calls from the top of the well as you, her and Levi peer down to the bottom. Eren raises his hand. You're in a field in Wall Rose to test Eren's titan ability. Hange decided to put him in the bottom of a dry well, since it should be able to contain his transformation if he loses control again.

"Ready!" he calls back, determination dripping into his voice. You all hop on your horses and ride away from the well - close enough to see if Eren transforms, but not so close you'll be in danger if he does. Hange sends up a signal flare to tell Eren to begin his transformation. You all hold your breath and wait for any indication of a transformation.

Nothing happens.

"Did he miss the signal or something?" You ask, although you're not expecting an answer.

"No. I doubt we can expect this to go that smoothly." Levi responds, before trotting his horse towards the well and yelling down at Eren. "Oi, Eren! The test is off for now! Do not transform!" He calls as he approaches. You and Hange follow him and lean over the edge of the well to look at Eren, gasping simultaneously. His hands are covered in bloody bite marks, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, eyes wide with panic.

"I don't think it works anymore" he says, voice trembling.

-

"Those wounds on your hands still haven't healed?" Levi asks, voice stern. Eren fidgets with his bandages as he replies.

"No, sir"

"If you can't transform, our plans to recapture Wall Maria go to shit. Get a grip, Eren. That's an order." Levi says, his voice cold and authoritative, before walking away. You all decided to take a quick break for some tea on the nearby picnic benches after getting Eren out of the well. You walk with Petra, chatting amicably, up to Levi.

"What do we do if he can't transform?" you ask the pair. Petra's eyes fall on him and Levi sips his tea before responding.

"We'll have to report to Erwin that the kid isn't any more speical than the rest of us and rethink the entire plan to retake Wall Maria" he says, voice devoid of emotion. You sigh and open your mouth to respond when you're cut off by an explosion from the benches. Levi's eyes widen and you and Petra jump, whipping round to find the source. A thick cloud of smoke blocks your vision. The familiar smell of titan smoke.

Eren.

When the smoke clears, you see him on top of a titan arm with no skin, desperately trying to pull his hand free. Petra rushes from your side, drawing her blades and joining Gunther, Oluo and Eld in surrounding Eren. All of them are glaring at him as if he's a real titan. You stay frozen in place, watching Eren struggle, as Levi moves from beside you to stand between Eren and the squad. Eren yells in frustration, seemingly unable to free his hand.

"Calm down." Levi's deep voice rumbles. You turn towards him, watching as he tries to get your squad to lower their weapons. You hear a scream of delight, and turn to see Hange running towards you all, grinning ear to ear, her second in command Moblit trailing behind her. She comes to a halt when she sees your squad’s reactions to Eren’s transformation.

“What’s the meaning of this Eren?!” Eld yells, snapping your focus back to the squad.

“Sir?” Eren asks, voice panicked, still tugging his arm.

“Why did you transform without permission? Answer me!” Eld replies, fuming.

“Eld, wait.” Levi says, growing impatient. Everyone is still stood with their swords drawn, eyes full of distrust for Eren. It hurts to see his panic. You can tell that whatever happened here was an accident, but your squad are reacting out of fear, and you can understand that as well.

“Explain yourself Eren!” Oluo shouts.

“No, he can do that later!” Gunther says before Eren even gets a chance to speak. “First, prove to us you’re not a threat! NOW!” Gunther screams, and you’re taken aback. You’ve never heard him raise his voice or lose his composure like this before.

“Move your arm again and your head’s coming off! Don’t test me, kid!” Oluo yells, and your eyes widen. Of course you can understand their fear, but they’re not even giving Eren a chance to speak.

“Oluo, I said to calm down!” Levi shouts, catching you completely off guard. You rarely hear his voice raised outside training grounds and battlefields.

“Captain, stand away. It’s dangerous!” Petra yells, and your eyes widen in shock. You didn’t expect her to speak to Levi like that, or be so concerned for him when you all know his immense strength. You make a mental note to bring that up later.

“No, you’re the ones who need to stand away.” Levi says icily.

“Why, sir?!”

“A gut feeling.”

Voices begin to overlap as the squad yells all at once, ignoring Levi’s orders. You can barely make anything out, and when you look up at Eren, he’s staring at you with wide, glossy eyes filled with fear. You nod at him before taking a deep breath and shouting as loud as you can to be heard over the cacophony.

“WILL YOU ALL PLEASE BE QUIET?!” You scream, and everyone falls silent, heads whipping towards you, eyes hostile and questioning. “Captain has told you to step back several times now. Besides, you’re not even giving Eren a chance to say anything. What’s the point screaming questions and threats at him if you don’t even let him respond?” You ask, raising a brow slightly and folding your arms. Your eyes survey their reactions, landing in Petra. She looks at you with a mixture of surprise and regret, as if your words are slowly sinking in. Levi’s lips are slightly parted, but his expression remains neutral. Before you can say anything else, Hange starts bounding towards you again, face brimming with excitement.

“EREN!!! Can I touch that arm?! Please please please?!” She shouts, grabbing onto it before Eren can protest. She pulls her hands back quickly, howling in pain.

“Squad Leader, you’re way too reckless!” Moblit scolds, looking at her blistering skin. You sigh as Hange screams questions at Eren, who finally pulls his hand free. The Titan arm begins to evaporate, producing burning steam that makes you all step away. Hange cries out, ranting about the experiments she won’t get to do anymore, and you walk towards her to check her hands, whilst Levi checks on Eren.

“Moblit’s right you know” you say, inspecting her burns. Hange looks at you sheepishly as you apply some salve from your medical bag and bandage her hands up. “Be careful for a couple days. It’ll hurt like hell if you’re on odm too much” you say, knowing that should be enough to deter her.

“Hey…” she says quietly. You follow her gaze to find a teaspoon clutched in the evaporating titan’s fingers.

-

You’re all gathered around the table as Hange finishes her theory. Confusion is etched on everyone’s faces at the idea - Eren needs a goal and open wounds to be able to transform, which is why he did so to pick up the spoon. Since it was such a small goal, only the arm was produced.

“So, you didn’t break the rules on purpose?” Gunther asks, and Eren nods. Him and the squad exchange glances, before simultaneously biting down on their hands. Hard. Your eyes widen as you understand what they’re doing - this is their way of apologising and making up for reacting so quickly. Their way of showing that they’re working on their trust, and asking for trust in return.

-

“Sir, what are we doing in the forest?!” Eren asks, fear and confusion lacing his tone. You and the squad are currently riding straight through the forest, with other Scouts positioned in surrounding trees.

“This is the perfect environment for odm gear. Think for a moment if you don’t want to die” Levi replies, tone calm. What Eren doesn’t realise is that you’re all thinking the same thing; none of you have any idea why Levi’s guiding you this way, but you all have complete trust in him, which is why you continue forwards, eyes peeled for danger. After a few moments, a black signal goes up. Levi orders you all to draw your swords, and you comply. Your alertness has doubled in the last minute as you listen for a threat.

Seconds later, an abnormal unlike you’ve ever seen before emerged from the trees. It looks female, with pink muscles instead of skin and blonde hair. It sprints towards you, slapping a Scout out of the way, killing him instantly. Your stomach lurches at the sight and you make a connection instantly.

This isn’t a regular abnormal. This titan has a human controlling it, just like with Eren’s Titan form.

You watch as it kills two reinforcement Scouts in the blink of an eye. It doesn’t kill to eat, simply to kill. You’re certain this is a person.

“Captain! Your orders!” Petra screams. You’re all terrified as the Titan catches up with you. You’re all screaming, begging Levi for permission to take it out as it gets closer and closer. Levi turns around, expression infuriatingly calm despite the situation, but you can see the slightest trace of uncertainty in his eyes.

“Everyone, cover your ears.” He says, and readies an acoustic shell. You all comply, and the ear splitting sound rings out across the forest.

“Remember everyone. Our job isn’t to let emotion overcome us. It’s to keep this brat unharmed, down to the last breath.” Levi mutters, eyes swooping across you all before landing on Eren. You steel your nerves and let his words sink in. Your priority is Eren, and keeping him out of danger. You glance at Petra and both nod, determined expressions matching.

You continue to push through the forest, managing to talk Eren out of transforming and fighting the Female Titan. It’s another few seconds before you ride through a small clearing, and see Erwin in the trees with other soldiers, canons ready. As soon as the Female comes in behind you, your ears ring from the sound of firing canons, and the lines shoot out, holding her in place. She’s immobilised, but her hands are covering her nape. You gape at the scene behind you, but it’s not long before you hear a yell.

“We need a medic here, please!” Someone screams from the trees. You whip round to face Levi, searching for permission. He nods in response, and as you grab your supplies and stand on your horse, he speaks to you.

“Wren. Be careful.” He says. Your eyes widen, and you meet Petra’s curious gaze, suddenly remembering you never asked her about that day of Eren’s experiments. You’ll have to do that after you’re back. You meet his gaze and nod, before engaging your gear and shooting up into the trees. You land beside an injured soldier - gash on the arm.

“What happened?” You ask his friend. His voice shakes as he responds.

“He was supposed to engage that abnormal, but swerved when it went to slap him and hit against a tree. He’s lost a lot of blood” the soldier replies frantically, and you grab a pressure belt and some cloths from your bag. You stuff a cloth in the casualty’s mouth and tie the belt above the wound and give the other cloth to his friend.

“Hold this down on the wound firmly until I say to take it off. We need to stop the bleeding, okay?” You ask, and he nods, still trembling slightly but determined. He presses on the wound and the injured soldier whimpers in pain. You grab a syringe and administer a small dose of morphine. It’s not much since you can only carry so much in your field bag, but it should help. You grab bandages, gauze, cleaning alcohol and water and turn back to the other soldier.

“Okay, move that cloth away. I’m going to dump some alcohol around the wound to flush out any dirt then wrap it up. Keep it still until we’re back in the Walls and you can get it sorted at the wards. Make sure to drink water.” You say to the injured soldier, who nods weakly in reply, his head clearly lighter form the morphine. You clean the wound as best you can, then wrap it up tight. You remove the pressure belt and tie a sling around the soldier’s neck. You huff a sigh once you finish, and both soldiers look at you appreciatively.

“Thank you so much” the friend says, and you wave him off, checking your supplies. It’s only a second before there’s another scream for a medic, and you zip to the next tree, treating the casualties there. As you finish up, a roar echoes through the forest, shaking the branch you’re on. You look around, quickly realising the Female Titan somehow managed to move her jaw and let out that noise. You see Levi perched on her head, swords drawn, before you feel the ground shake again as dozens of pure titans start to rush towards the Female. Your eyes widen, and Erwin calls for squads to intercept them, but it’s futile. Levi stomps on the Female’s head before rushing into combat, easily taking down three titans at once. You’ll never fail to be awestruck by Levi’s incredible abilities. He really earned his spot as Humanity’s Strongest Solider. Mere seconds pass before at least fifty titans rush towards the female.

“Soldiers, engage! Defend the Female Titan at all costs!” Erwin yells, and you stand up, engaging your odm gear and shooting towards the titans. You easily dodge their hands, realising immediately that they’re not trying to reach for any of you, instead going to the Female and eating her.

“Cannibalism?” You mutter, slicing out the nape of one Titan and spinning back to launch again. Blood rains as napes are sliced around you, and grunts from soldiers fill the air, but it’s no use. There’s too many titans, and they’re eating away at the Female’s flesh.

“Withdraw!” Erwin booms from the trees, and you zip back to the tree with your bag, panting slightly. “Return to Calaneth!” Erwin yells, slightly shocking you. It seems this intelligent titan was his real goal of the expedition, and her getting eaten is a major loss for the Corps. You gather your supplies and prepare to follow Levi, until you see he’s heading to restock his supplies. You tell the soldiers stood by you to carry the casualties to your wagon, and follow Levi to restock. You land beside him, chucking your dull blades and filling your holders with fresh ones.

“What’s the plan from here?” You ask him as he fills his gas canisters.

“Fuck if I know. Erwin’s clearly not letting go of the Female yet” he responds, switching to his other canister. You ponder his response for a moment before getting an epiphany.

“Does that mean he thinks it was a person inside that Titan? Since we never saw them get eaten, does he think they’re still out in the forest?” You say suddenly, and Levi’s eyes widen slightly as he looks at you.

“Probably.” He says quietly, securing his gas and standing. You stand too, turning to face him.

“I’m coming with you. You’re not talking me out of it” you say, and Levi sighs before nodding.

“Fine. Stick behind me” he says, and you nod firmly before you both take off towards the smoke flare from your squad. You hear faint yelling, and Levi changes course slightly to head towards it. You’re not sure where your squad is headed; maybe they missed the withdrawal signal or something? Seconds later, there’s a huge yellow flash - Titan transformation. You and Levi stop against a tree and exchange a glance.

“Eren?” You ask uncertainly.

“Or the Female. Odds are the squad ran into her. Only a matter of time before Eren transforms too” he says, voice slightly uneven, before zipping away at full speed. You follow quickly, zipping through the trees, when another titan transforms. You and Levi exchange another look, eyes betraying both your thoughts. No matter who transformed the first time, you’re certain now.

Eren is engaging the Female Titan, meaning something’s happened with the squad.

Dread pools in your stomach at the thought that Petra could be hurt, and you press on your gas a little harder, pushing in front of Levi and turning towards the transformation. You hear Eren’s roars, and your bad feeling grows worse. As you cross the trees, you stumble across a corpse hanging by an odm line. You double back when you see the face.

Gunther.

You gasp, hand covering your mouth, Levi hiding a pained expression. You look at the floor and see Eld, split in half. Levi shuts his eyes and shakes his head. You wonder if he had another comrade who died the same way. Grief swoops over you as you process the deaths of your friends, finding Oluo dead nearby. You start to panic, eyes flying around the trees, when they land on her.

Petra. She’s dead.

Her body slumped against a tree, blood coating the stump. You let out a pained cry, unhooking your gear and dropping to the ground beside your best friend’s corpse. Levi hovers above you, but you can’t look away. You throw up into the grass next to you, heaving and sobbing. Your hands shoot out towards Petra’s face, and you shut her eyes before grabbing her body and holding her in your arms, crumbling in on yourself with sobs. The front of her body is shredded, her guts threatening to spill onto you. This is a pain you haven’t felt in years, not since your brother was killed. You don’t know how long you stay like that, sobbing into Petra’s limp shoulder. Her comforting floral scent is masked by blood, and you choke on your sobs as you take in her features, devoid of life and warmth.

“You weren’t supposed to leave me” you choke out, stroking her cheek repeatedly. It’s cold beneath your touch. You hug her tightly again and sob wildly, your cries echoing throughout the trees. You don’t care about the titans, or Eren fighting the female, or anything. All you can think about is how the one girl who’s the reason you’re still alive is gone, and you’re alone again. There’s no one to put you back together this time as you fall apart into the shoulder of your dead best friend.

“What am I meant to do without you” you mutter, voice hoarse. You hear odm gear whizzing above you, but you don’t have the energy to look up until you feel a grim hand on your shoulder. Your gaze darts up, arms still wrapped around Petra’s frame as your eyes meet Levi’s. They’re pained, and not just from the grief of losing the squad. You can’t focus on what else could be causing him to look at you like this, but it’s not long before he’s standing up, and you see Eren in his arms, covered in titan goo.

“We need to get out of here now.” he says, and you nod, getting to your feet slowly, still cradling Petra’s body. You carry her in one arm and engage your odm gear with the other, your movements completely on autopilot.

-

You’re sat in a grassy field outside the forest. Your mind and body are completely numb as you stare at Petra’s corpse, wrapped in cloth. Her hand still has the bite marks from the other day. Tears slip from your eyes again as you crumple into yourself, bringing your knees to your chest and hugging them tightly.

“Oh, Wren. I’m so sorry” you hear, and glance up to see Hange looking at you, tears streaming down her face and eyes dim. She sits next to you on the grass and you lean into her embrace, sobbing into her arms, her hands rubbing up and down your back to provide you a small sense of comfort. Her own tears drip into your hair.

“How am I meant to live without her, Hange?” You croak. Hange’s grip on you tightens slightly.

“Honey, you’re stronger now than you were years ago. The grief will be painful and you’ll miss Petra forever, but you’ll make it through and continue on for her. I know you will.” She replies softly, hands still circling your back. You pull out of her arms slowly and take in her grief stricken features.

“Thank you” you whisper, gazing back to Petra’s body. Your brows furrow slightly as you see Levi bend over her, pulling a knife from his pocket and cutting at something. Confusion morphs into anger at the sight until you see him hold up her Wings of Freedom patch, and your eyes brim with fresh tears. You watch as Jean and Armin lift Petra and the others and place them carefully in wagons. Hange pats your arm gently.

“We’ve got to get back to the walls. Are you okay to ride your horse?” She asks, voice cracking slightly. You nod and pull yourself off the ground with much effort. Your limbs feel like lead. You walk towards your horse and grab a water bucket, allowing it to drink. Minutes pass, and you’re riding back towards the walls, Levi next to you. Your wagon has a couple of the soldiers you treated earlier, and they’re all stable. You’re glad you could at least save them.

“Titans!!” Someone yells from behind you. Your turn on your horse to see two soldiers riding towards you, bringing the titans with them. One has a corpse behind him.

“Stupid brats. They were told not to go back in there” Levi mutters, annoyance filling his tone. You meet his eyes, searching the now dim grey for an explanation. He only shakes his head slightly.

“Later” he says, and you nod, although you’re not convinced there’ll be a later. A red smoke flare goes up, and Erwin calls for full speed.

“We can’t fight freely out here. There’s no way to use odm” Levi says to Erwin, who nods.

“It’s quicker to flee to the wall.” He responds, pushing ahead slightly. You listen as a soldier engages his odm gear in an attempt to free his friend from a titan’s grip. It doesn’t work, but you watch as Mikasa manages to save him before he meets the same fate, slaying the titan with ease. You speed up slightly, not wanting to lose anyone else before getting to the wall.

“It’s no use” Levi calls to the soldiers preparing to engage. “We’re too slow. Drop the bodies and speed up to the wall” he says, and your eyes widen.

“But, sir!” The soldiers say. You’re too stunned to speak. You sort of understand why Levi’s saying this, but is he really okay with leaving everyone’s bodies here in Titan ground and returning to their families without them?

“Fuck…” he says under his breath, clutching his left leg. You didn’t realise he was injured. No wonder he’s making this impossible decision rather than fighting. You watch with streaming tears as they slowly unload each body into the path of the titans. You watch Eld, Gunther and Oluo fly off the edge of the wagon. You take a glance at Petra as she’s dropped, and the cloth comes away from her face. You take one final look at your best friend’s face, marred with death before she’s thrown off the wagon, and you turn away, muffling your cries with your hand. You can feel Levi’s gaze on you, but you don’t look up.

The next time you turn around, you can’t see Petra anymore.

-

You’re numb again as you walk through the streets of Trost next to Levi. A crowd is formed, watching you all trudge back inside the walls, throwing horrible comments about the Survey Corps. Although that’s nothing new. As you keep walking, a man comes up to you and Levi. You recognise him instantly.

Petra’s dad.

Your eyes shoot down to the floor. You can’t look at him knowing his daughter is dead and her body is bring trampled on by titans outside the walls.

“Captain Levi!” He says cheerfully, introducing himself. Levi stays silent. “I’d like to talk before I see Petra. She sent me a letter saying you handpicked her for your squad because she’s so skilled. She says she wants to devote herself to you completely. She’s so starry-eyed she isn’t thinking about how worried her parents are!” He says with a chuckle. Your eyes widen at the implication, and you feel like shit for a different reason.

How could you not have realised she loved him?

Or were you just pretending you didn’t notice? Suddenly her actions at the well make sense.

From the way Levi’s eyes widen slightly and his body goes rigid, you’re guessing he didn’t realise either. You think back to her Wings of Freedom.

Did Levi love her back?

Why does the thought make you feel so strange?

“So as her father” Petra’s dad continues, oblivious to both your and Levi’s internal turmoils. “I feel it’s still early for her to get married” he says, and the words hang thickly in the air.

Petra wanted to marry Levi, and you didn’t even know she was in love with him. You feel like a lousy friend, and a lousier person for the pang of jealousy that shoots through you at the thought of Levi getting married. Petra’s dad turns to you.

“She wrote about you too. Wren, right? Says you’re her best friend and she doesn’t know what she’d do without you. That she loves you like a sister. Both of you, I do thank you for making my daughter’s life in the Corps so much nicer. I’m off to find her now, take care!” he says jovially, before stepping back and scanning the crowd. Your head is still down, shielding the tears dripping from your eyes.

-

You’re back in your bed, and the house is eerily quiet. When you returned, Eren had explained to you exactly what happened to the squad, and you almost threw up again hearing what the Female Titan did to everyone. What she did to Petra.

Now you’re sat on your bed, your heart hollow from grief and your eyes puffy and raw from crying. You don’t realise you got up and left your room until you’re stopped in front of Petra’s door. You turn the knob and push it open gently, her familiar smell hitting you instantly. You take in the room, eyes landing on her desk chair. Her favourite top is draped over the back. Her mother made it for her back when she graduated from the cadets, and she wore it at least once a week since then, even when you left the barracks to come here. You pick it up, running your fingers over the smooth material, before breaking down in sobs, collapsing onto the floor and hugging the top close to your chest. You don’t hear the footsteps approaching, or notice when someone steps in until he’s speaking to you, gentle hand on your shoulder.

“Come on, let’s sit on the bed” he says softly, and you allow yourself to be guided until you’re sat on Petra’s bed. You slowly look up and meet Levi’s eyes, filled with pain and worry. They soften slightly when you meet his gaze, and he presses a glass of water into your hands.

“Drink this” he whispers, and you do. You didn’t realise how thirsty you were until now, and you greedily gulp down the whole thing. You look back at him when you finish, and he takes the cup from you, setting it down on the floor. Silence lingers for a moment before you bring up the question that’s been nagging in the back of your mind.

“Her badge” you say hoarsely, and Levi’s brow lifts in confusion before realisation dawns on his features. You elaborate anyways.

“I saw you cut her badge off earlier. Why?” You ask quietly. Levi sighs before explaining.

“Proof she lived.” he says, and you raise your brows. “She was always so… happy. She was kind and hardworking, she helped around the house more than I asked sometimes, and she was a loyal comrade. Sometimes, it didn’t feel like she could even exist. Someone who cared about me as a person as well as a solider, but who trained professionally under my watch regardless.” You let his words sink in, but he continues. “I don’t have it anymore though. I gave it to that solider who brought the horde and told him it belonged to his friend. I figured he would make better use of that reminder.” He finishes quietly, and your heart skips in awe. For someone who pretends not to give a shit about anyone or anything, his heart is ridiculously caring.

“She would’ve been glad she could help someone a final time, even inadvertently.” You murmur, voice breaking, eyes trailing his features as they fill with tears again. You pause before asking your next question.

“Did you… love her?” You say, so quietly you barely hear yourself. You know Levi did, though, as his body stiffens slightly.

“No” he says, and you feel ashamed at the relief that floods you. “I had my suspicions she might love me, but her dad confirmed that earlier. Bullshit, really. Him thanking me for what I’ve done for her when I let her get killed today and couldn’t even bring her body back to him.” His voice drops at the end of his sentence, shame and despair featuring equally in his tone.

“You did more for her than you could ever know” you respond, voice firm. His eyes widen slightly as you press on. “You did protect her, despite what you think. You trained her exceptionally well. She had a kill count of 58 total! There’s nothing that could’ve been done today to prevent what happened because none of us could possibly have anticipated that Female bitch.” You say, and a weight lifts from your own shoulders at the words.

You couldn’t have done anything. It’s not your fault you couldn’t save them.

Levi’s eyes graze over your features, before he nods, gulping. “Thank you” he whispers, and you nod, taking his hand in both of yours and squeezing gently. He looks taken aback at the gesture, but doesn’t pull away. You sit silently, finding some comfort in the other’s presence, before Levi speaks again.

“We should sleep. Not sure what the plan for tomorrow is for us, so better get some rest.” He says, squeezing your hand softly before pulling away and standing. You mimic his actions, but your legs wobble beneath you. Levi catches you before you fall to the floor, grip firm on your hips.

“Careful. You okay?” He asks, and you nod, stepping back. Your skin burns where his hands just were. You follow him out of Petra’s room, taking one final look around before shutting the door gently. You wait for Levi to leave, but he remains in front of you, eyes scanning your features. You think about leaving and heading to your room, but then it hits you.

You don’t want to be alone tonight.

In the cadets, not long after you lost your brother, you would always slip into Petra’s bed, seeking comfort, and she would stroke your hair and rub your back until you fell asleep, casting away the nightmares and panic attacks. She was the only reason you got any sleep for the first three months, to be honest. Now that she’s gone, you’re scared you won’t sleep again.

“Uh” you whisper, looking down.

“Yeah?” Levi asks kindly, and your heart throbs.

“I uh. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight. In the cadets, Petra would let me sleep with her so I wouldn’t get nightmares about my brother” you say quietly, forcing your eyes back to Levi’s. He’s looking at you with an expression that’s a mixture of shock and hesitation. When he doesn’t respond for a few seconds, you back away, embarrassed.

“Never mind, forget I said anything. My apologies, sir.” You say quickly and try to walk away, but his hand catches your wrist, sending a jolt through your veins.

“It’s okay. Do you” he pauses, taking a deep breath before continuing. “Do you want to stay with me tonight?” He asks, and you swear his ears are pink. You nod gratefully, and he tugs your wrist gently, prompting you to follow him.

“And drop the formalities” he says softly as you walk to his room. Your brows shoot up your head.

“Huh?” You ask, dumbfounded. Levi turns to you as you reach his bedroom door.

“Just call me Levi” he says, voice sincere. Your lips part, unable to form words, so you nod in acknowledgment. He nods back and pushes the door open.

Maybe you won’t fall apart this time.

Chapter Text

Levi’s POV

Why the fuck did he do this?

What made him think saying yes would do either of you any good?

Okay, maybe it can do some good. But seriously?

Letting you in his bed? What the FUCK was he thinking?

He ponders this question relentlessly as he watches you slump onto his mattress, his eyes fighting to keep away from your exposed skin. Your sleep shorts have ridden up to your upper thighs, and your tank top clings to you like second skin, accentuating your curves and the muscles on your abdomen. The muscles in your arm twitch slightly as you push yourself into a seated position, and he has to fight to keep his face expressionless. He can’t let you see what you do to him.

“So.” You start, your sweet voice slightly hoarse from crying so much. “Are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to come sleep?” You ask, big eyes flitting towards him, and his breath catches in his chest. He clears his throat before speaking.

“I’ll sleep on the floor. You take the bed” he says, eyes widening when you shake your head.

“No way. I’m not coming in here just to steal your bed. Sleep here with me, just for tonight” you whisper, eyes shining. “Please.” His body goes rigid, and he feels a flush creeping slowly up his neck. He takes in your soft features, your lashes sparkling with tears, the way your lips form a small pout, and his resolve flees in seconds.

He could never say no to you, no matter how much he knows he should.

“Alright” he says after a moment, and your features brighten. You push back on the bed until you hit the wall, then slide yourself under the covers. You remain seated, looking at him expectantly. He pushes his thoughts aside and climbs into bed next to you, keeping as far to the edge of the bed as he can so he doesn’t invade your personal space. You slide down until you’re laying, comfortably, keeping your eyes on him until you’re lying on your side, and he thinks for a moment as he lies down facing you that he could get used to this - sharing a bed with you, enjoying your presence and comfort, having you look at him with such soft eyes and your lips turned up slightly a small smile. He wonders what you’re thinking about.

“Thank you, Levi” you whisper, and he stiffens at the use of his name. It sounds perfect and sweet rolling off your tongue. You smile weakly at him before rolling around to face the wall, leaving him to stew in his thoughts.

A few minutes later, he notices the slight shake of your shoulders and hears your muffled sobs, and he’s immediately glad he didn’t let you sleep alone tonight. He doesn’t think as he reaches a hand towards you, placing it on your head. He trails it down towards your ear and strokes the hair away. He notices you relax slightly beneath his touch, so he repeats the motion. Minutes pass, and he sees your breathing even out, hearing you snore softly as you drift asleep. He continues stroking your hair, until he leans forward slightly and presses a chaste kiss to the back of your head. His lips tingle as he takes in your slightly fruity scent, before swiftly pulling back and turning his back to you.

When he wakes to find you gone the next morning, the message is clear to him.

He needs to control himself better, and keep his distance. No matter how badly he may want it, this can’t happen again.

-

You wake up feeling surprisingly warm. You didn’t expect to feel anything but the chill of grief for weeks, but right now it feels as if you’re being enveloped in an embrace. It takes you a second to remember where you are.

Levi’s bed.

Your eyes widen at the realisation of him beside you, still asleep, his fingertips resting lightly on your scalp, but you don’t get long to enjoy the comfort as you feel the liquid seeping from between your legs.

Shit.

Shit shit fuck why now?!

You sit up quickly, jamming your foot under yourself so as not to soil Levi’s sheets, and scramble off the end of the bed before rushing out the door and towards your room to grab a cotton pad and change of clothes before darting into the bathroom, miraculously not waking Levi. This explains why you’ve had cramps the last couple days. You strip out of your clothes, leaving your underwear to soak and hop straight in the shower. Once you’re done, you dry off your upper body as you stuff the cloth pad into your pants and pull them on, then finish drying off and change into your clothes for the day. You’re unsure of what the plan is, but given how Eren and Erwin were summoned into Wall Sina, you’ll need to be ready for anything, hence your training bottoms (black, of course) and a long sleeved top. You grab your dirty clothes in one hand and open the door with the other, picking up your towel on the way to finish drying your hair. As you turn the corner, you run into Levi, and the memory of the last time this happened rushes into your memory, making you blush slightly.

“Hey” you say, still towelling off your hair. It’s honestly unfair how good he looks after waking up; even more so that you didn’t get to see him wake up beside you.

“Hey” he rasps, his morning voice sending a jolt through your body. You fight back a shiver and try to keep your voice level.

“Sleep okay?” You ask, noticing how his eye bags are slightly heavier than usual.

“Not really. You?” He responds, and your reply is the same. You stand silently for a moment, the air filled with an odd tension, before you decide to diffuse it the simplest way you know how.

Pretend it doesn’t fucking exist.

“What’s the plan for today?”

Levi sighs. “We’ve only got a couple days before the MPs come to get Eren. We’ll have to talk to Erwin and see what his plan is. If we lose Eren, this was all for nothing.” He says, and you glance down at the floor, the emptiness of the house hitting you hard.

It can’t all be for nothing.

Levi steps past you and you notice the way he limps slightly, avoiding his left leg. You remember that you meant to ask him what happened yesterday.

“Levi?” you ask, and he turns to you, brow raised expectantly. You’re glad he’s allowed you to use his name - it means you must be becoming friends. Or at least comfort for one another.

“Your leg. What happened?” You ask, stepping to your door and chucking your dirty clothes and towel onto your wash basket, before turning to face him again.

“Female Titan slap when we were getting Eren back. It’s not serious, don’t worry about it” he says and makes to get away, but you grab his arm before he can run into the bathroom. You meet his eyes with a challenging stare.

“Don’t say that. As soon as you’ve showered, come to my room and let me examine and treat it. A titan slap is a big fucking deal Levi” you say sternly, and he sighs again before nodding. You release him and head back to your room to wait for Levi.

-

It’s totally broken.

Of course it is. He got slapped by a fucking titan. You peer up at him from the floor, eyes narrowed. He raised a questioning brow.

“You shouldn’t even be fucking walking. How are you walking?” You ask, completely stunned how he’s able to take even a step without collapsing. Levi shrugs.

“It’s not that bad” he says nonchalantly, and you gape at him.

“Right. Let’s ignore the fact that no normal human should be able to walk on this leg at all.” You say, and Levi rolls his eyes. You mock pout at him before continuing, and his lips quirk. “I need to bandage this up to keep it stable and there’s NO way you’re fighting at all for at least two weeks. If you rest up properly, we can talk again about combat then.” You say as you fix up his ankle, cinching the bandage as tight as you can before standing. “I’d say don’t walk on it at all but we both know you’ll ignore me” you start, raising an eyebrow at his offended expression. “So, just try not to walk on it unless absolutely necessary, and keep as much weight off it as possible” you finish, and Levi sighs before nodding and standing, shifting his weight onto his other leg. You both walk out your room and head downstairs, Levi going to the dining room to sit down. The reminder of what happened to your squad hits you like a brick as you step into the eerily quiet kitchen to make some food for you, Levi and Eren. You look out the window and see Eren out on the track, your heart warming slightly at his determination. You know he blames himself for the deaths of your squadmates, and whilst you’ve both told him it wasn’t, he’s resolved to never live a situation like that again.

You busy yourself with making tea - you even got some eggs with your rations, so you decide to scramble them - trying to ignore the gaping hole in your heart that the absence of your squad is leaving.

You can’t believe they’re never coming back.

Despite your best efforts, your eyes fill with tears and you place the kettle back down on the counter, bringing one hand to your mouth to muffle your sobs and the other flying out the grip the counter as you curl into yourself, dropping to the floor. You squeeze your eyes shut as reality really hits you.

Petra’s gone, and she’s not ever coming back.

You bring your other hand to your mouth to stifle the cries as you sit on the floor. It’s not long until you hear the door open, and you shoot up from the floor, wiping at your tears, then banging your head in the counter.

“Shit” you curse, bringing one hand to soothe the area, still fighting back sobs.

“Wren?” Eren asks, and you look at the boy, his eyes wide with concern. You quickly wipe your eyes again and meet Eren’s.

“Are you okay?” He asks, voice trembling slightly. You notice the slight gloss to his eyes.

“I’m fine” you lie, although you’re not sure why you bother. He can clearly tell you’re not. “Just bumped my head picking up a spoon” you chuckle lightly, and turn back towards the counter. You’ve always been good at quickly wiping your tears and pretending you haven’t been crying, even if you were sobbing your eyes out like just now. But you know Eren can tell when he speaks again.

“I saw you from the window” he whispers. Well, shit. That’s annoying.

“Ah” you say, continuing to load up plates with toast and pour everyone’s tea. You put out the heat on the eggs and add them to each of the plates, before setting them all in a tray. You pick it up and turn towards Eren. He’s looking at you with such a remorseful expression that it’s painful. Your eyes soften.

“Look, Eren. I know me and Captain have already said it but what happened yesterday wasn’t your fault. I don’t want you to blame yourself at all, even if you feel or see us upset and wish you could’ve stopped it. There was nothing you or anyone could’ve done to prevent what happened. Petra was my best friend and I knew her for a long time. It’ll take me some time to accept her death, but I’ll be okay eventually. All I ask you to do is not blame yourself. You don’t control our lives or this cruel world.” You say, holding his gaze the whole time. It hurts to speak about Petra, in the past tense, but you meant what you said. You’ll be okay eventually, and the first step to healing is acceptance. Eren nods, eyes glossy, and you walk over, shifting the tray to your right hand and patting his head with your left.

“Cmon, let’s eat and talk about the plan for the next couple days” you say softly, and Eren follows you as you walk into the dining room and set the tray down in front of Levi. He grabs his teacup and sips it, giving a nod so faint you might have hallucinated. You place everyone’s plate in front of them before sitting down and sipping your own tea. It’s absurdly sweet, just how you like it, but still a little too hot, so you set it down and start on your food instead. You haven’t eaten since dinner before the expedition, and you hadn’t realised how hungry you’d become. You devour your food, and once everyone’s finished, Levi speaks. You listen carefully, sipping your much more enjoyable tea.

“Eren, as you know, you’ve been summoned into Wall Sina. Erwin is meant to arrive or send someone in his place later today. We’re hoping that happens before the MPs arrive to collect you. We’ll do some agility training today. Suit up within the next 15 minutes and meet me by the tree line.” He says before standing and limping out the room. You’re glad he’s taking your words to heart. You clear the table and wash up before heading out to the gear shed, ignoring how empty it is, and strap your gear on. You head around the back of the building and find Levi and Eren waiting.

“Right. Today will be a shorter than usual run. We’re going to focus on reaction time. I’ll be shooting flares from here. Whenever I do, change course immediately. Go side by side and the same direction at all times. Clear?” He asks, and you both nod. You stand side by side at the treeline, and Levi shoots off a flare to signal the start of the drill. You and Eren zip into the forest, waiting for the signal to change direction. When it comes, you’ve both already assessed your surroundings, opting to veer to the right. You straighten from the harsh turn and continue on.

Levi’s trying to improve your movements when surrounded by obstacles, as well as sharpen your reaction time.

When the drill ends, you both land with a huff, panting slightly. Levi stands off to the side, and nods when you meet his eyes. You go through a couple more endurance and reaction drills before calling it a day. You head to shower first since you volunteered to take over dinner, and when everyone’s done, you sit down to eat. After food, you brew some tea and wait for Erwin or the MPs.

“Erwin’s never late. Must be taking a long shit. At this rate the MPs will beat him here” Levi grunts as he sips his tea. He’s wearing a grey long sleeve that looks way too fucking good on him. You have to fight to keep your eyes away from his exposed collarbone.

It’s not a fight you’re winning.

“You’re uh, pretty talkative today Captain” Eren comments shyly. You can tell the boy has been blaming himself for what happened, and that he’s glad Levi isn’t acting any harder on him.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I talk plenty.” Levi replies, and you hold back an eye roll. Silence falls until Levi sets his cup down and grunts, clutching his injured leg. You gave him some painkillers earlier, but they must be wearing off. You move to stand up to get some more when Eren speaks again.

“I’m sorry. If I had chosen right, this wouldn’t have happened.” He says quietly, eyes cast down, and your heart throbs. He’s only 15, and already has so much weight on his shoulders.

“I told you. No one knows how things will turn out” Levi says, tone even. You stand up to leave, looking Eren in the eye.

“It’s not your fault” you say softly, eyes misty. “I’m just going to get some painkillers” you say as you look at Levi, who nods.

You walk towards the door, but it opens in front of you. You stumble back slightly as Erwin, Armin, Mikasa and Jean walk in, along with a few other soldiers you don’t recognise.

“Sorry I’m late” Erwin says. “We believe we’ve found the Female Titan’s identity.” Your eyes widen and your jaw drop. Eren mirrors your expression, and you don’t miss the way Levi’s eyes widen a fraction. “We intend to capture her” Erwin continues. He notices that you intended to leave the room and says “I recommend you hear this as well, Wren.” You look to Levi for approval, and he nods. You step back around the handle and sit down next to Levi, listening to Erwin’s plan.

“The day after tomorrow, we’ll be passing through Stohess on the way to the Capital. This will be our last chance to apprehend her before we lose Eren. We must bet everything on this plan.” Eren nods, that familiar determination heavy on his face. “Whilst passing through Stohess, we’ll use Eren as bait to draw our target into this underground passage. If we get her far enough underground, we should be able to keep her from transforming. However, if she does transform, it’ll be up to you, Eren.” Erwin explains. In theory, the plan should work.

“The target is a member of the Military Police” Erwin says, and your jaw drops again, although you shouldn’t be so surprised given the amount of corruption in that branch. “And she was a cadet in the 104th Training Corps.”

The silence is heavy, thick with tension and emotion, although it only lasts a second.

“Wait a minute!” Eren says, bewildered. “The 104? Really?”

“Her name” Erwin continues, and you lean forwards slightly, fingers gripping the edge of the table. You hold your breath in anticipation of the name of the girl that crushed your world all over again. “Is Annie Leonhart”

Silence falls again.

“You can’t be serious” Eren whispers. His eyes are filled with betrayal. “What evidence do you have?”

“Well” Armin speaks up, and you turn your eyes on the young boy. You should’ve known he would have theories - the boy is a genius. “She knew how you looked from the start. She chased solely after you. She even looks like Annie. But the biggest factor was she reacted to something only people from our class would know - the nickname ‘suicidal maniac’. Plus I’m sure that she’s the one who killed Sawney and Beane” Armin has clearly put a lot of thought into this, even dating back to when Hange’s titans died. You remember that day clearly; Hange was distraught at the loss of her precious test subjects, and she had truly loved them.

“How do you know that?” Eren asks accusatorially. He’s clearly having trouble coming to terms with the fact that humans are cruel, and people betraying you is part of life.

“Killing them would’ve required skill, meaning you need to use the odm gear you’re used to.” Armin explains.

“But Annie passed the equipment inspection!” Eren argues.

“Because she presented Marco’s gear” Armin says, and Eren’s jaw drops. You don’t know who Marco is or how Annie had his gear, but judging from Jean’s reaction to the name, he was another boy from their training class who’s dead now.

“Maybe you saw wrong!” Eren says desperately.

“Hey, kid” Levi cuts in, and silence falls again. You had forgotten he was sat right next to you. “We get it. Any more evidence?” He asks Armin.

“No sir” Armin replies.

“Personally, I think the Female Titan and Annie even look very alike” Mikasa supplies, and Eren jumps to his feet in anger.

“Are you insane?! What kind of evidence-“

“So we have no actual proof” Levi interrupts, summarising everything.

“So what happens if it’s not Annie?” Eren demands.

“Then she’ll be cleared of suspicion” Mikasa says quietly.

“I’ll feel bad for the trouble if she’s innocent, but if we don’t do anything, the government will make a victim of you.” Armin says firmly. Eren turns away.

“You guys are crazy, not trusting our friend.” Eren mutters.

“You saw the way she fought, Eren. You fought her yourself. Did the unique technique not seem familiar?” Mikasa asks, and Eren pauses, eyes wide as he recalls his memories. You grit your teeth and look down at the table, rage bubbling through you.

Annie Leonhart took your best friend from you.

You tune the rest of the conversation out, not realising it until the MPs burst through the door and escort Eren out of the room. Erwin and the others leave as well, leaving just you and Levi in the room. For a moment, you sit in heavy silence, both processing the recent news. The, without a warning, you burst into tears, curling in on yourself in your chair. You press your hand to your mouth to muffle the sobs, but to no avail. You haven’t felt a pain like this in years, and it’s agonising.

Levi’s hand hovered next to you, before he decides to lay it on your back, rubbing soothing circles. The gesture makes your breath stutter slightly. You stay like that for a long time, and Levi never leaves your side.

-

You’re perched on a rooftop in Stohess. It’s been about a day and a half since Erwin told you all the plan for today, but this is the worst case scenario. Annie and Eren are both transformed, fighting in the streets. The city is in carnage: blood and corpses littering the street, people screaming. Levi and Erwin should be on standby somewhere. Erwin is expecting to be taken into custody for a short time, but as long as you can capture Annie, everything should work out. You told Levi many times not to even think about fighting today, and he had begrudgingly agreed.

He had told you to avoid fighting when you can and focus on injured soldiers, which is what you’ve been doing. You watch as soldiers manoeuvre to avoid getting hit, but those who do die on impact, rendering your skills useless. Your throat clogs as you think back to your squad - this was the end they all met, at the hands of this woman. You take a deep breath to calm down, remembering your mission.

You can’t kill her. You need her information.

Hange had managed to capture her briefly, but she had freed herself from the traps not long before Eren transformed.

You grimace as another wave of cramps hits. Day three has always been your worst, and this time is no exception. You don’t really have time to deal with this right now, so you push up to a standing position, doing your best to ignore the hellish pain in your abdomen.

You watch as Annie rushes to the wall, Eren close behind, and push forward to land next to Hange.

“He won’t win on spirit alone. You know that” Armin says to Jean as you arrive. “Surpassing Annie needs more”

“She’s going to level ground. We can’t use odm there!” A soldier shouts, and you grit your teeth. She’s smart, eliminating the obstacles to allow herself the greatest chance at escape.

“Split into two teams and surround!” Hange tells, and everyone takes off. Hange turns to you. “You alright, honey?” She asks softly, and you nod, steeling your gaze.

“Just wanna take this bitch in and find out why she’s doing this” you reply, voice thick with anger. Hange nods in response.

“I’m with you on that” she sighs, looking out towards the titans still running towards the wall. Annie and Eren pause, staring each other down, before she raises her fists. Eren roars and swings at her, grabbing her leg and throwing her across the street into a building. She dodges his attack at the last moment, sending him flying to a tower.

“Even if we capture her, the city will be in ruins” you mutter, and Hange sighs again.

“That’s not our concern. It’s up to Erwin. Let’s get ready for capture again” she calls to her squad, and they jump into action. Buildings are beginning to blaze across tcity as Annie and Eren continue their fight, sending a gust of wind and debris straight at you all. You wince as she pummels Eren before taking off for the wall.

“Fuck” you whisper and turn back towards the carriage Levi and Erwin arrived in. Erwin is being lead away in handcuffs and Levi is-

That idiot. Why is he suiting up his gear?!

Your head snaps back when you hear a roar from Eren, and you gasp sharply at the sight. His titan form looks like it’s on fire, and he’s bounding through the streets at ridiculous speeds, easily catching up to Annie.

“What the hell?” You say, and Hange nods, her own eyes wide.

“Yep. No idea what happened” she says as Eren tackles Annie by the wall. Mikasa lands near you, and Hange stops her before she runs off for Eren.

“I’m not sure Eren would recognise you right now!” Hange says, and you agree. It doesn’t look like he’s in complete control. You wince as he squeezes Annie’s face until her eyes pop. She runs towards the wall and start to climb. Eren bites her leg off, but it does nothing. Things seem hopeless until Mikasa leaps towards the wall, slicing Annie’s fingers on both her hands with an insane making of grace.

She almost looks like Levi, but with slightly less refined skill.

Annie falls to the ground, and Eren is on her in seconds. Erwin is nearby with some MPs, and he doesn’t even flinch when Annie’s arm comes flying towards him. He watches with a determined expression as Eren decapitates Annie. You feel a swell of satisfaction at her pain. You want her to suffer like your friends did. Like Petra did.

Eren leans down to bite out her nape, and panic surges across the group. If Eren eats her, this was all for nothing. You watch in horror as he tears out the nape, relief coursing through you when you see Annie pop out from inside.

Tears are streaming down her face.

Eren hesitates, and it all happens too fast. A blinding blue light erupts from Annie, and once it fades, Annie is stuck in a strange crystal. You hear odm gear whizzing, and watch with a dropped jaw as a figure cuts Eren out of his titan.

Levi.

What the fuck happened to ‘I won’t fight today’?! Why are you even surprised?

Levi pulls Eren out of his titan and lands back on the street, coming to stand next to you and Hange. You fold your arms and raise a brow at him, examining his limp.

“What happened to our agreement, sir?” You ask, making sure to keep up formalities around others.

“Was I supposed to let him eat our target?” Levi replies, brow cocked. You mimic his expression, shaking your head slightly.

“The rest of us were all here. You don’t need to risk losing the ability to walk for this.” You respond angrily. Levi averts his gaze slightly, heaving a sigh before responding.

“You’re right, sorry” he says, and your eyes widen in surprise. Those were three words you never expected to come out of Levi’s mouth. Hange lets out a cackle beside you.

“Wow, shortstack. Disregarding your doctor’s orders then admitting you were wrong? Never thought I’d see the day!” She says, producing a chuckle from you and a scowl from Levi.

“Shut it, Four Eyes” he grumbles, and you all turn back to face the decomposing titan and crystal with Annie in it. Eren has some strange patterns covering his face, unlike the usual ones he has after transforming. You shift your focus back to the crystal, which Jean is hitting repeatedly with his sword, breaking it further each time until all that remains is the odm handle and screaming at her. You barely notice Levi leave your side until he rests his arm on Jean’s shoulder, halting his movements. Hange orders to take Annie underground and tie her up, and everyone starts moving again. You follow Levi as he starts to walk away, intending to chastise him about his injury again, but as you fall into step with him, you see Erwin and the MPs in front of you. Levi pauses behind him, not turning to speak.

“Seems the plan didn’t work out” he says.

“No, I’d say the Survey Corps is cleared now” Erwin replies, and your brow furrows in confusion. Levi glances briefly in your direction before facing forwards again and starting to walk.

“Let’s hope so” he responds, and you jog slightly to catch up with him.

“Stay here. I’m going to get my med bag. Non negotiable” you say, cutting him off before he has a chance to argue. Levi sighs before leaving against a building and crossing his arms.

“Whatever you say, doc” he says, and your abdomen clenches as you look into his steel grey eyes. You turn away quickly, zipping onto the roof you left your supplies on and returning quickly. Levi’s exactly where you left him, a bored expression plastered on his face. He looks up when he sees you, and you can’t tell if you imagined the light that appears in his eyes. You drop your bag to the floor and kneel beside it, providing some much needed relief to the pain in your abdomen. You breathe sharply before getting to work, assessing Levi’s injury. His eyes map out your features, taking in the crease of your brow, but you deflect any questions before they can come up.

“You’re lucky it didn’t get worse. I’m serious - no fighting for two weeks under any circumstances. You’re staying at the barracks during that time so you’re not tempted.” You say sternly, not leaving him any room to argue. To your surprise, Levi nods without a word. “Good” you say, rising to your feet, fighting a wince. “Pretty sure we’re staying here for the night whilst Erwin is questioned and Eren recovers, so let’s go.”

Levi nods again, eyes narrowed, but you ignore him and head off towards the building Eren will stay in for the night, but shouts of panic stop you both in your tracks. You turn to Levi, whose brow is furrowed in concern, before turning and taking off back towards the group. You yell at Levi not to run as you round the corner, and your gaze lands on Hange.

“What the fuck is going on?” You ask, panting. Hange points up at the wall.

“See for yourself” she mutters. You follow her finger and gasp at the sight.

There’s a titan in the wall.

“What the fuck?” Levi says from beside you, making you jump. You didn’t even notice him.

“Didn’t I say to walk?” You ask him, and he raises a brow.

“I did walk” he responds. You don’t believe him, but you don’t have the energy to argue with him. Hange runs closer to the wall, Moblit in tow. Her eyes are wide with fear, and you watch in confusion as a pastor from the Church of the Walls puts his hand on her shoulder.

“Whatever you do… don’t let the sunlight reach that Titan!!”

Chapter Text

The next few hours are a shitshow. The revelation of titans in the walls was bad enough, but apparently whilst you were all trying to capture Annie, titans appeared in Wall Rose. The 104th cadets were in the area when the titans were spotted and were sent out to evacuate villages along with Miche, Nanaba and a few other soldiers. The message only arrived after the wall titan had been covered, and everyone is beginning to prepare to head out again.

Everyone except you and Levi.

You had been adamant about him remaining out of combat entirely, and luckily, Erwin had backed you up.

“Listen to your doctor, Levi” he had said when Levi tried to protest. Levi shot him a death glare that had you stifling laughter until he fixed you with the same look.

Everyone has been rushing about for the last few hours, and whilst you’re not fighting this time, you help load up carts with supplies and gear.

“Tch, where’s that damn Four Eyes? Everything’s ready” Levi grumbles from behind you. You sigh, realising it’s been a while since you saw her - Eren even woke up and got ready in that time.

“Let’s look for her” you suggest, and Levi nods. You walk around the building, unsurprisingly finding Hange underground, bent over a microscope, Moblit rushing around beside her.

“Oi. Time to go” Levi says, leaning against the doorframe - how he can make such a causal movement look so attractive is beyond you.

“Ah, my bad! Got caught up with my research!” Hange says brightly, but there’s a slightly horrified look in her eyes. She picks up a strange looking rock before heading out the door. You and Levi follow her down the hall.

“What were you looking at?” You ask, and Hange’s eyes light up.

“I’m glad you asked, darling! This here is part of the crystal Annie Leonhart is enclosed in. Upon further inspection, it looks to be the exact same material that the walls are made of!” Hange says, and your jaw drops. Even Levi looks mildly stunned.

“You’re telling me the walls are made of hardened titan skin?” You ask, not quite believing it. Hange nods to confirm.

“So the only thing protecting us from the titans is more titans” Levi deadpans, and Hange sighs, nodding again.

“Unbelievable, right? We have to make a quick stop!” She says, walking in the opposite direction of the Corps. You come to a small room with that pastor inside. Hange grabs him and you head back to the Corps.

“Why is he here?” you ask as you walk.

“I believe Nick here may be able to help us!” Hange chirps. Before you can ask her to elaborate, you reach the rest of the soldiers and slip into a cart opposite Eren, Armin and Mikasa.

“Why is he here?” Armin echoes your earlier question. Hange grabs Nick by the shoulders, jostling you into Levi slightly. He steadies you lightly with his had, and you shoot him a grateful look before righting yourself. Levi nods in return.

After a small discussion, Erwin commands the troops, and you all set off.

-

“He knew the whole time?” Eren demands, glaring furiously at the pastor.

“Yes, and decided to keep it to himself. We’re bringing him with us so he can see the horrors of when a wall breaks down.” Hange explains, and all eyes shift to Nick.

“This is insane! If you know something, tell us! Nothing’s more important than humanity’s survival!” Eren yells, before clutching his head and falling back onto his seat, earning him a scolding from Mikasa. You hear the faint click of a gun before Levi’s arm drags across you, pressing the barrel into Nick’s side. His elbow rests lightly over your lower abdomen, sparking a fire.

“There are many ways to make people talk” he drawls. “I may be injured and useless right now, but you’ll prove no problem to me. Hopefully we can settle this without blasting a hole into anyone.” He finishes, and Hange sighs.

“Threatening him is useless, Levi. Believe me, I tried. I wonder if the reason he won’t talk is because he knows even more than the fate of humanity?” Hange says, and a thick silence ensues.

-

“Oi, Four Eyes. You gonna explain to the others about the rock?” Levi says, and Hange straightens.

“Right! This is a fragment of Annie’s hardened skin!” Hange chirps, and Armin leans forwards.

“It didn’t disappear?” He asks, and Hange matches his energy easily. They make an incredibly smart pair.

“Exactly! It didn’t evaporate, so I decided to investigate. When I compared it to a fragment of the wall, I found that they were practically identical!” She says, and her eyes begin to gleam. “If I’m right, this means the walls are made of many huge titans, and the surface is their hardened skin!”

After a beat, Mikasa speaks. “That’s exactly what Armin was saying…” she mutters, and Armin gasps before leaning forwards. Hange clamps her hand on his mouth.

“Hang on, Armin! Right now, we’re pressed to plug Wall Rose, unless we can find a perfect boulder to seal the hole. But, if Eren in his titan form could use this hardening ability to seal the wall…” Hange continues, removing her hand from Armin’s face and leaning back into her seat. “If they’re made of the same material and the hardened skin doesn’t evaporate, it’s possible!”

“That means reclaiming Wall Maria is plausible too! Without the need to transport supplies, we could quickly make our way to Shiganshina and seal the hole!” Armin says firmly. There’s. A pause before he continues. “What if we do it at night? That way, titans will be immobile!”

Armin really is a genius.

“The only problem” you say, and all eyes turn to you, except the pastor. “Is we’re not sure if Eren can even plug the hole” Hange regards you thoughtfully before turning to Eren.

“I realise this is an unfair question, but can you do it?” She asks, but Levi cuts Eren off before he can speak.

“Doesn’t matter if you can or not” he says, fixing Eren with a firm stare. “You have to. There’s no other option. You must succeed.” Eren’s face grows a determined expression as he regards his Captain.

“I’ll do whatever it takes!” He says firmly, before his voice drops to a murmur. “My dad’s basement … if what he said was true, then all the answers are there”

There’s silence until you reach the wall of Ehrmich District.

-

“Oi. Keep moving” Levi says, kicking the pastor in the back.

“Th- this is..” he stutters, eyes fixed on the crowd.

“What did you expect?” Levi says darkly. “This is what happens when the walls fall.” You look out at the surges of people evacuating Wall Rose. Children scream and cry, parents desperately trying to comfort them.

“Take a good look at the faces of people who’ve lost everything.” You say icily. “The people toh and your church abandoned. If your wish comes true and titans get in, we’ll all be devoured and die the most miserable deaths possible.” Levi drags Nick by the shoulders towards where the troops are preparing to leave.

“Had a change of heart yet?” Hange asks Nick. He doesn’t answer, eyes cast at the floor, and Hange explodes. “There’s no time for this! Make up your mind already! Will you talk or not?”

“I cannot say anything.”

“Well, thank you for all your lovely help, then!” Hange shouts, turning to storm off, but Nick speaks again.

“I cannot say anything, but the one we were told to watch can. You know her.” He says, and all of you listen intently. “She joined your ranks this year. Her name is Historia Reiss, but I believe you will know her as Krista Lenz.“

“104th Cadet Corps, Sasha Braus! Excuse me, this is for you, Squad Leader.” Sasha says as she bursts into the room and tries to hand Hange a scroll. The room is silent for a moment before Nick speaks again.

“You must find her. She may know things even I do not. That is all I can say.” He finishes, and takes a deep breath.

“If she’s in the 104, she’s on the frontlines right now” Hange mutters.

“We need to hurry then!” Eren says, running back and straight into Sasha.

“What are you doing here?” Mikasa asks her, and the girl seems to have a sudden epiphany.

“I was given this message to deliver to you, Squad Leader!” She says clearly, before presenting the scroll to Hange. Hange takes it, dropping a potato in Sasha’s hands. You swear you’ve never seen someone so happy.

“Krista is the smallest of us.” Armin explains as they gear up. “She’s got long golden hair, and she’s pretty cute” you quirk a brow at that, though you don’t disagree.

“She’s always hanging around Ymir” Mikasa supplies, and Hange seems to realise who they’re talking about. Levi is stiff and silent beside you. You all move to a strategy room, where Hange goes over the plan for their mission. You and Levi stand off to the side, observing, until Hange addresses the message Sasha brought her.

“I finally got the background check for Annie Leonhart. Took a while, but according to this, two others in the 104th are from the same place as her. Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover.” She says, and a thick silence follows. The four 104 recruits are tense, waiting to see what Hange believes about their friends. “Because of 5 years ago, their family records are all over the place. However, they were the two given false intel during the 57th expedition; they were purposefully told Eren was in the right flank” she continues, and you stiffen.

Did they have something to do with that day?

“The Female Titan attacked from the right!” Armin bursts suddenly, snapping you from your grief-filled haze. “Maybe they passed their info to Annie..” he trails off.

“Wait Armin. That’s not enough to-“

“I know, Eren. That’s not enough to prove anything” Hange interrupts. “But I’d like to know how these three interacted during training.”

“We knew Reiner and Bertholdt were from the same place, but they never really spoke with Annie” Armin supplies, and the others agree. You begin to tap your finger restless against your crossed arm in an attempt to settle your nerves, not noticing Levi studying you from your side.

“As their comrade, it’s too hard to believe!” Eren insists, and you suppress a sigh. He’s still a kid, and betrayal isn’t a complete concept in his mind yet. “Bertholdt never spoke much, but Reiner was like our big brother! He would never be able to deceive all of us.”

“I agree. Reiner would’ve died fighting Annie with us if not-“ Armin cuts himself off with a gasp. “When he escaped, Annie was looking at her steaming palm. Then, she suddenly changed course, and ran towards Eren. I had mentioned that Eren was in centre, but Annie couldn’t have heard”

Hange pauses to gather her thoughts before speaking again. The rest of the room is silent. “Did Reiner seem overly interested in where Eren was?” She asks, and Armin gasps again.

“No way…” he mutters. “I only brought up where Eren was because Reiner had asked me first. He could’ve carved the message into Annie’s hand”

No one speaks.

“You can’t say things like that, Armin!” Eren yells, but you cut him off.

“Eren. Keep calm” you demand, and he stands back. Hange shoots you a quick nod before continuing, which you return, relaxing slightly.

“Listen up!” Hange calls. “If we encounter Reiner or Bertholdt, don’t reveal that we suspect them of anything, and don’t make any mention of Annie Leonhart. Whether or not they’re her accomplices, we need to lead them underground and detain them.”

“We have to go now!” Eren yells, rushing to the door.

“Calm down, Eren” Levi says, stopping him in his tracks. “You lot listen. We’re going our separate ways now, so the rest is up to you. Armin, work with Hange and combine your knowledge. You’re both smart, so keep up with the strategy.”

Armin looks taken aback as he responds. “Yes sir!”

“Good.” Levi says, turning to face Mikasa. “Mikasa. I don’t know why you’re so attached to Eren, but protect him with your life.”

“Of course sir” she replies, and Levi nods.

“Eren. Learn to restrain yourself. Don’t lose sight of the mission. We can’t afford any more mistakes.” Levi says, and your heart aches knowing he’s referring to the loss of the squad. It’s only been a couple of days, and the grief is still raw. You push back the tears that are threatening to form as Eren nods and everyone hops on their horse. You walk up to Hange.

“Come back safe, alright?” you say, surprised at how small your voice is.  Hange lays a hand on your shoulder, and you cover it with your own.

“We will, honey. don’t you worry. You just focus on your time alone with shortstack over there” she adds, grinning, and you feel your face flush as you pull your hand back.

“No idea what you mean. Love you, bye!” You say before jogging back to where you left Levi. You turn as everyone rides through the gate and into danger. You hate that you can’t be there to help if anyone gets injured, but you know that as his personal doctor, Levi is your priority right now. “Shall we?” You ask, and watch as he scans your features.

“They’ll be fine” he says firmly, and your eyes fill with tears again. You look away as you respond.

“I know” you whisper, baffled that he could tell exactly what was troubling you as you both begin to walk.

“Where did Erwin say we were staying tonight?” You mutter as you come to a stop near the evacuation points. People are still streaming in from Wall Rose, although fewer than earlier.

“Garrison barracks. No Scout ones in Wall Sina, and the MPs are pretentious pigs that wouldn’t even entertain the thought of sharing their space with us” he replies, and you sigh, turning to head in the direction of the barracks. You weave through throngs of people until you come to a large building with Garrison officers stationed outside. They straighten up at the sight of Levi.

“Captain Levi. We have your rooms prepared” one solider says with a salute. Levi nods and you both follow him inside until you reach a pair of doors next to each other. Levi reaches for one of the doorknobs, so you step past him to open the other. It’s a standard military room, not especially different from your room back in Trost. You glance back at Levi before he disappears into his room.

“Don’t go anywhere, Levi. You’ve already walked a lot more than you should’ve today, and it’s affecting you.” You say sternly, holding his gaze until he sighs and nods.

“Yes doctor” he grumbles, before shutting his door. Your mouth twists into a smile as you shut the door behind you too.

-

You wake up to a banging on the door. Confused, you drag yourself out of bed and pad to the door, throwing it open to find Levi stood in front of you, brow cocked in amusement.

“Morning, Captain” you mumble sleepily. His lips quirk slightly before his regular stoic expression takes hold.

“Summons from Erwin. He’s got troops from Garrison and MPs ready to move out and join Hange and the others. They should also have info on the breach. We’re heading out in 20” he says, and your brain struggles to keep up, so you just nod. Levi moves away from your door but pauses before turning into his room. “Nice bedhead, by the way” he muses quietly.

“Shut up” you grumble automatically, straightening up when you realise who you’re speaking to, but Levi just shakes his head and walks back into his room.

-

“Can’t believe there were no titans” you say to Levi across the cart. You had been quickly briefed by Erwin, who had said no titans were encountered before going to find Pyxis. You were waiting with Levi to find out what Erwin’s plan was. You had picked up Pastor Nick from a different set of barracks on the way, and he was sat silently beside you.

“Hey, Levi” an MP yells, and Levi’s eyes roll slightly before he turns to face them. “Where you hiding the titans?” Your brows raises at the ignorant question.

“Oh? You seem disappointed” Levi drawls. “Such a shame you couldn’t fight any titans today. If you’re looking for another chance, there’s plenty of expeditions beyond the walls. We should join forces and fight titans together” he finishes, fixing the MPs with an icy glare. The reply is cut off by a messenger, informing you that the advance squad is back from checking the breach.

-

“So there’s nothing wrong with the wall?” Pyxis asks, and the soldier confirms.

“That’s not all!” he yells. “We encountered Section Commander Hange on our way, and with her were 104th recruits. From that group, three of them were titans!”

A collective gasp rings out, and your body goes rigid. 3 titans? Who else was hiding this power? You look around, spotting Jean and Sasha, so you know it’s not them. Jean isn’t taking the news well, which you understand. Finding out three of your friends were deceiving everyone can’t feel great.

Erwin steadies Jean and begins to question the soldier, who says the Armoured and Colossal Titans were engaged in battle by the Scout forces. Your heart twinges. You hope Hange’s okay. You can’t bear to lose her, especially not so soon after Petra.

You swallow the lump in your throat, fiddling with your earlobe as the soldier finishes his report. Erwin and the rest of the soldiers begin to ready up to leave, and you and Levi stand off to the side.

“Oi” he says, snapping you back to reality. “They’ll be fine. No sense worrying now. Let’s head back to Trost since the wall is secure.” You nod, unable to form coherent words. You both hop back in the cart and it sets out behind the others.

-

Trost is eerily quiet. All citizens of Wall Rose were evacuated after the titan spotting, and until the mission today is over, no one will be coming home, making you and Levi the only people here after the cart driver drops you off at the barracks. You and Levi walk straight to his room, where you rewrap his ankle quickly before heading to the showers. You scrub your body down, enjoying the rarity of warm water and the empty bathroom. You take your time, lathering your hair and rubbing every inch of your body over and over. When you eventually stop you, you feel brighter and more alert. You change and shear back to your room, chucking your stuff away before heading to the kitchens to find something to eat, rubbing your abdomen as you go. All the emotions from the soldier’s report and your worry about the mission had distracted you from the pain momentarily, but now it was back in full swing.

You turn into the kitchen, grabbing some rations and a cup of water before sitting down at one of the tables. You’re too lazy and in pain to The silence is unnerving, but you’re still too preoccupied to notice Levi approaching as you lean forwards in your seat, pressing your head onto your arms folded across the table and pull your knees up slightly in an attempt to quell the pain, sighing softly.

“What’s wrong with you?” Levi asks, and you jump slightly, lifting your head to meet his eyes. “You’ve been grimacing all week and you just folded yourself up like a fucking garden chair.” He explains, and you giggle at his strange metaphor. He raises a brow as he walks past you to make a cup of tea.

“Didn’t I say not to walk so much?” You mutter, turning your head to face him. He grunts in response and you roll your eyes, deciding not to bother avoiding the topic since you’ve done a shit job hiding anything.

“I get bad cramps” you start, and he turns to face you, brow cocked in confusion. You wave a hand vaguely as you continue “you know, when it’s that time” you say, and Levi’s eyes widen slightly in realisation. The flush creeping up his ears would be comical is the atmosphere wasn’t so awkward. You rest your forehead on your arms again, listening to Levi moving around the kitchen, probably making himself food. You lift your head a few minutes later when you hear a plate being placed in front of you, straightening when you realise.

Levi made you food. And tea.

Your wide eyes flit to his, and he sips his tea nonchalantly as if he didn’t just do exactly what you needed without you saying anything. You sit up and pick up the fork, only realising how hungry you are when you take the first bite. You groan softly.

“This is really good” you mutter as you eat. Levi grunts in response. “When’s the last time we even ate?” You ask, thinking back.

“Day before yesterday” he responds, and you sigh. You both eat in silence after that, and you knock back the rest of your tea before standing up to wash off the plates. Levi goes to take it from you but you hold out a hand to stop him.

“No way. You’ve been using that leg way too much. Bedrest for the rest of the day, no argument” you say, turning your back to him. You think you hear him grumble behind you before he pushes up from the bench and turns out the door, presumably heading to his room (you’ll check later).

With a soft chuckle, you begin to clear up your plates.

Chapter Text

The day passes at a crawl. With Levi on bed rest, you’re forced to do only your own personal training schedule, which makes you feel significantly less productive than Levi’s sessions do, but you take what you can get. You go for a run, which does wonders to calm your nerves about your comrades in the field.

You hop in the shower, then go to check on Levi after you change. Unsurprisingly, he’s not lying in bed like you told him to. What you don’t expect is to find him lying across his spotless floor doing sit ups.

You cross your arms over your chest, unimpressed, as Levi meets your eyes, not even stopping his exercise. You scoff in disbelief.

“Do you understand the meaning of bedrest, sir?” You ask, brow raised. He rolls his eyes as he continues.

“There’s no weight on my ankle. Don’t see an issue” he grunts. You roll your eyes and step towards him, bending to place a hand on his shoulder, halting his movements. His eyes widen at the sudden contact, but it’s gone as soon as it came.

“Get up and lie in your bed. Is that really so hard?” You ask, and he rolls his eyes before pushing off the floor and lying down on his bed, arms folded behind his head.

“Happy?” He teases, and you roll your eyes as you sit at his desk.

“Ecstatic” you grumble, leaning back slightly to face him. “Honestly, I spent weeks on bedrest and you can’t handle a day or two?” You tease, and his eyes roll.

“Your injury was significantly more severe” he responds.

“Yet we were both at risk of losing the ability to walk. So you’ll survive in your bed for a couple days” you say, and he huffs a sigh, although there’s no hint of annoyance. You sit in silence for a moment before you speak again.

“Do you think they’re alright?” You ask quietly. You don’t want to entertain the thoughts that something’s happened to Hange or the others, but with the situation they’re facing, you know it’s a possibility.

“We have no way of knowing” he replies, and you’re not sure how to feel about his response. Most people would’ve opted for empty reassurances, so you think you appreciate his bluntness.

Equally, you wouldn’t have minded some comfort.

“It’s getting late. They’ll probably be back within the hour” he says, and you rest your forearm across the desk, dropping your head onto it. It’s been an exhausting few days, and you fall asleep without meaning to.

-

“Hey” a voice calls from above you. A thumb brushes your cheek, and you shoot up in panic, eyes wide and scanning for danger. You meet Levi’s shocked eyes and sigh in annoyance.

“Fuck, sorry. Reflex” you mutter, gaze cast at the floor.

“Look at me” he whispers, and you flit your gaze to meet his. His eyes are swimming with regret as he searches yours.

“Don’t feel bad, Levi” you whisper, placing your hand over his and taking a deep breath. “I told you I was alone for some time in the Underground. I had to find a means to survive, and it left me with a fair bit of trauma and that panicked reflex against sudden touch” you explain, not wanting him to feel bad for something that wasn’t his fault, but the regret in his eyes only multiplies.

You hold his gaze for another moment before he speaks.

“They’re back”

-

“Hange!” You call when you see her, relief flooding through you as you jog towards her, coming to stop when she turns to face you. Levi almost crashes into your back at your abrupt halt. “What the hell happened out there? Let me treat your wounds.” You ask, eyes scanning her burned and scarred face.

Hange sighs before replying, casting a glance behind you at Levi. “I’m fine for now honey. Let’s go see Erwin. We’ll explain everything then.” You nod, suddenly extremely concerned as you all make your way to Erwin’s… bedroom?

Why are you going to his room? Shouldn’t you do something like this in his office-

Oh. That explains it.

You stop in the doorway, eyes widening at Erwin’s arm. Or lack of arm.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Levi asks from behind you, reminding you to walk in. You take a seat by Erwin’s bed, and Levi sits beside you. Erwin lets out a weak chuckle.

“Good to see you’re doing well, Levi.” Levi rolls his eyes. “How is the injury doing, Wrenley is it?” He asks, turning to you. You straighten slightly.

“Just Wren is fine, sir. His ankle is broken. He honestly shouldn’t be able to walk, but because he can I’ve told him to spend only two weeks out of combat and we’ll see from there. Granted, he should be on bedrest right now” You respond, glancing at Levi, who scoffs. Erwin nods slightly before turning to Levi.

"Make sure to listen to your doctor, Levi. She seems exceptionally capable.” Erwin muses, and your pride swells at the indirect compliment.

Levi grumbles “I do listen to her” before the amused atmosphere dies out, and you look to Erwin, waiting for an explanation.

“Well, I suppose we should catch you up. Hange, start from the beginning for me.” He says, and she nods, swiftly taking over.

“Right! This whole thing starts before we arrived. The 104th recruits that were being monitored by Miche and Nanaba had been sent out to evacuate villages. Those with Nanaba’s squad found an old castle to spend the night in. Whilst they were there, titans could move at night for an unknown reason, and they reported seeing a large, hairy titan. They were being swarmed by the titans, and with the 104 gearless, Nanaba and her entire squad were wiped out” your breath hitches at that. You weren’t exceptionally close with Nanaba, but she was always lovely when you interacted.

“In order to prevent everyone from dying, one girl, Ymir, revealed herself to be a Titan shifter like Eren, and fought off the remaining titans until we arrived.” Your mind is spinning at the information dump, and it’s only the start.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, we also encountered the Armoured and Colossal Titans, who were in fact Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover. They actually transformed without any prompting after confessing to Eren” she starts, and your eyes widen. That’s a bit… weird. They spend years undercover in the military just to confess without any prompts?

“Eren engaged the Armour in battle, but right before he defeated him, the Colossal dropped off the Wall and took both Eren, Ymir and Reiner. This lead to a few hours of waiting for reinforcements to get Eren back. Also, the Colossal transforming emits a ton of steam, which is why me and many others are so burned.” Hange nods at Erwin, and he takes over.

“I lead the reinforcements and we successfully got Eren back. However, there were many titans in the area, and we suffered significant losses across all regiments, as well as many injuries” he says, nodding at his missing arm. “Whilst we got Eren back, we lost the Armoured, Colossal and new shifter Ymir. I doubt that’s the last time we see them.”

“Eren also demonstrated a strange new power. When he yelled, all the titans in the area left us alone and rushed towards him, eating the titan he was fighting. This is the only reason we made it back without losing anyone else.” You either back to process the information, thinking it’s over until Levi speaks.

“Who else died?” He asks, quieter than usual. Erwin’s gaze softens as he regards him.

“We lost many of our ranks, most notably to you Miche” he says, and your breath catches again. He was second only to Levi. You would never have thought he would die so suddenly. Him and Nanaba were engaged and hoping to plan a wedding in the next few months. Now, they’re both gone.

Levi is stuff beside you, but he doesn’t say anything else. It’s silent until there’s a knock on the door. Hange opens it, and Connie steps in, fists clenched as he salutes.

“Pardon the interruption but… I think my mum is a Titan!”

-

You walk out of Erwin’s room in a daze.

“That was way too much information at once” you mutter, and Hange sighs beside you.

“I know honey. It’s been a hell of a week. Now, it’s time for everyone to recover before the next battle.” She says, and you nod. You stop when you make it to her door.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to check your injuries?” You ask, feeling useless despite Levi being your focus. Hange’s eyes soften as she places a hand on your shoulder.

“I’m fine, doll. I’ve been checked on already. You focus on short stack over there” she grins.

“Fuck off, Four Eyes” Levi grumbles, and you fight a smile as you walk down the corridor. You’re about to turn into your room when Levi calls for you.

“Come with me” he says, and you follow him back to his room. He shuts the door behind you and goes to sit at his desk, so you sit on his bed.

“You’re still in bed rest, you know” you say, folding your arms. He rolls his eyes as he picks up some paperwork.

“Gotta form a new squad now that we’re responsible for Historia as well as Eren” he says. Right, one of the recruits is apparently from a noble family, and Nick said she would have information for you, so Erwin assigned her to Levi.

“Wait, what do you mean we?” You ask suddenly, and Levi turns to you, brows drawn in confusion.

“You’re my second in command” he says as if it’s obvious, lips quirking at your bemused expression.

“Oh” you say dumbly, struggling to form a coherent sentence. You’re not sure if you imagine the soft chuckle that leaves Levi. Your brain’s a bit of a mess. “Thank you, sir” you say, still gobsmacked. He scoffs as he begins to jot down names on the form in front of him.

“Don’t bother with all that. You’re the only competent one out of these brats.” He mutters, and you smile as you peek at the names.

“It’s sweet you’re keeping them all together” you say quietly, watching him wrack his brains to remember all the kids, and he rolls his eyes, ears tinged ever so slightly pink.

“What’s the redheaded girl’s name? The one who’s always eating?” He asks, brow furrowed in concentration, and you laugh as you answer him.

It’s bittersweet, really. It’s been mere days since Petra and the others died, and you’re already being forced to move on and replace them. But it also means time for a new era, to get closer to that freedom you all dreamed of.

For her.

“Sasha. Sasha Braus” you say, eyes suddenly glossy. Levi notices, but you shake your head before he can ask. He gets the message, turning back to finish off the list. He reads out the names to check he’s got everyone since you fought with them in Trost.

When you confirm, he stands up and starts to walk to the door.

“I’m going to drop this off at Erwin’s room to let him know” he says, but you get up and block his path, arms crossed and brows raised.

“Actually, you’re going to stay here and lie down so your ankle can heal, and I’m going to take that down to the Commander” you say, and he sighs dramatically before handing you the papers and flopping on his bed again. You flash him a grin before turning to the door. You pause before stepping out, facing him again.

“No sit ups this time, okay sir?” You ask, fighting back giggles at the glare he sends your way.

“Yeah, yeah. Get lost, brat” he grumbles, and you laugh, closing his door behind you and heading back towards Erwin’s room.

You stop outside the wood doors, knocking a few times. You hear his summon, and you push the door open, saluting him after you shut the door.

“At ease, please. I assume Levi sent you?” He says, and you can hear a hint of amusement in his voice. You lower your fist and hand him the sheets Levi gave you, pausing as he shuffles through them with his one arm.

“Let him know I’ll have everyone informed of the switch by the end of the day and he’s free to begin training whenever he wishes” Erwin says, satisfied with the group. You nod, about to salute him and leave, but Erwin stops you.

“How are things with you and Levi?” He asks, and you stiffen, face flushing immediately. Just what does he think your relationship is like?

“What do you mean, sir?” You squeak, pulling a short chuckle from Erwin.

“Merely since you lost your squad so recently.” He responds, still amused despite the grim topic, and you visibly deflate until you realise what he asked, and your heart seizes.

“We’re okay, thank you sir. It’s a devastating loss, but we’re Scouts, and this is the life we chose. All we can do now is keep going so we can honour their sacrifices and the hearts they gave for us” you say, feeling your wounded heart heal as you do. It feels as if you’re finally moving towards acceptance.

Petra changed your life for the better, and things will never be the same without her, but you both knew the risks of this life, and you both joined for humanity. Now, you want even more to see the end of this all for her.

Erwin nods in approval, seemingly pleased with your response. “Thank you, Wren. You’re dismissed. And please continue to closely monitor Levi. He has a tendency to push himself even when injured” he says, and you sigh despite yourself.

“Trust me, I’m well aware sir. I’ll be sure to keep him in check whilst he recovers.” You say, and Erwin’s lips twitch as you salute him. You leave his room feeling much lighter.

-

“Did Wren leave here a few moments ago?” Hange asks as she closes the door, and Erwin leans back in his bed.

“Yes. Dropping off the paperwork for Levi’s new squad.” He responds, shifting around to get more comfortable as Hange sits beside him.

She hums thoughtfully before blurting “do you think either of them have figured it out yet?”, prompting a chuckle from Erwin.

“I’d assume you have a better answer for that than me, seeing as you just interrogated Levi?” He muses, and Hange groans dramatically.

“They’re so clueless! Levi never acts this way with anyone, and I think I saw him blush when I brought this up before!” She near yells, and Erwin’s bushy brows shoot up his head. “And don’t get me started on her. Completely in denial, I swear. For such smart people, they can be really stupid” she sighs, and Erwin nods thoughtfully.

He’s seen the way Levi changes around you, even if it’s unnoticeable to others. The way his shoulders dip when you enter the room; the way his gaze softens fractionally when you meet his gaze; even the seemingly minuscule act of sleeping in your presence.

All these seemingly insignificant acts that are monumental for Levi, and Erwin is certain he knows what they mean.

If only you both knew too.

“Well, I’d say it’s only a matter of time” Erwin muses, thinking back to your reaction to his ambiguous question.

“I hope so, although I doubt it. Levi’s convinced she’ll hate him forever if he tries to talk to her” Erwin’s interest piques.

“What do you mean?”

-

Hange’s damn annoying.

She barged in right after you left for Erwin’s room with a ridiculous barrage of questions she was never satisfied with his answers for.

Levi thinks he knows what he feels for you, but he can’t squash it with Hange breathing down his neck.

“Just tell her that you love her! What’s so damn hard about it?!”

“I can’t”

“You can! I swear, she won’t reject you! She’s totally-“

Levi sighs. Hange’s interrogated him at least once a week since you were injured, and he gave up denying anything months ago, thinking it would shut her up. Now, the bespectacled freak just amps up the intensity of her abuse.

“I can’t. I can’t have her. I don’t deserve her”

There’s a pause. Then Hange lets out the most obnoxious snort.

“That’s the dumbest fucking excuse you could’ve come up with. Levi, you’ve done nothing to not deserve to be happy with her”

“You don’t know what I’ve done” Levi’s hands ball into fists.

“Enlighten me, then”

A long silence stretches. Just as Hange’s about to speak, he finally gets it out.

“I killed her brother. Back in the Underground” Hange’s jaw drops and eyes widen. Levi holds her stare, shame coursing through him at the admittance.

“You… you knew her brother?” Hange stutters.

“No. We had a run in one time and I killed him. So stop this bullshit about us, because it’s never going to happen.”

“You must have had a reason! Surely if you explain-“ Hange tried, but Levi cuts her off.

“Won’t work. You know better than I do what she went through after he died. You think if I start giving excuses she’ll jump into my arms and forgive me?” He spits, anger bubbling through him. Hange sighs, exasperated.

“She still deserves to know, Levi. When did you realise?”

A beat passes before he answers. “First week after she joined the squad” Hange’s jaw drops again as she slams her hands in the mattress beside her.

“Levi! You’ve kept this from her for months?! Don’t you think she deserves to know what happened?”

“What good would it do to bring up something that already causes her so much distress?” He snaps, cutting Hange off before she can speak, and she falls silent at his next words. “Besides, it’s not like I regret it”

-

A month passes, and you’re living in an old farmhouse with Levi and the squad. You moved out here two weeks after the reveal of Reiner and Bertholdt, as per Erwin’s request to keep Eren and Historia secluded and safe.

You convinced Levi to stay at the barracks for two weeks to let his ankle heal, and he surrendered eventually, training the new squad without engaging himself. To your surprise, the injury was almost fully healed after that, so you had no choice but to agree to move out to the farmhouse.

That was how you ended up scrubbing the house down with 7 teenagers, desperately trying to convey Levi’s standards to them.

“Sasha, stop stealing food! We just had lunch!” You call from across the room, and Sasha cries out as Armin tried to take the bread from her.

“Wipe your shoes when you come in! You’re getting mud everywhere!” Eren yells at Jean, and it’s not long before they’re arguing again. You heave a heavy sigh, mentally cursing Levi for leaving you in charge for the day. You do love these kids, crazy as they can be, but right now their lackadaisical attitude towards the chores is starting to piss you off. Eren had been the one you were counting on, having done this before with you, but even he’s getting distracted, albeit not as much as the others.

“You guys need to understand something. Captain Levi is insane about cleaning. If we don’t get this done now we will be up all night and still have to run 5 miles and do a full day of training tomorrow. So let’s stop messing around for a few hours and finish, alright?” Your voice is stern, eyes scanning their faces.

Just then, the door pushes open, and Levi walks back in. The kids freeze, eyes wide and fearful. You and Eren sigh simultaneously, knowing what you’re in for.

Levi swoops his unimpressed gaze across everyone, lingering on you. You offer an apologetic shrug, and he raises a brow. You pull your mask back on and turn away, scrubbing the counter behind you, trying to ignore the sounds of Levi surveying the half finished cleaning job.

“I’m certain I gave you enough time” you can hear the grimace in his voice.

You were right - Levi had you all up for hours past dinner to finish cleaning. It was midnight by the time he was finally satisfied, and you were all up again before 5 to run 5 miles, followed by a long day of rigorous odm, endurance and spar training.

It was nothing short of hell.

Since that day, the kids have been ardent about keeping the house spotless, much to Levi’s satisfaction. You’re just glad they realise that he won’t let things slide.

After the house was clean, Hange and Eren began running experiments to work on Titan hardening. The plan to retake Wall Maria hinges on Eren mastering this power, but the results have been a little disappointing, to say the least.

“The future of humanity is riding on you! Get up, Eren!” Hange hollers, and you bite back a wince at the volume.

“Four eyes. He’s deformed, not even 10 metres, and some of him lacks muscle. Plus, Eren’s scrawny ass is hanging out” Levi supplies helpfully from between you and Hange.

“I see that! Thank you! Eren! Give us a signal!” She yells, and you sigh, casting your eyes back on Eren’s titan, watching as Mikasa runs to his side, blades drawn to cut him out. Levi scoffs from beside you.

“Gloomy brat’s ignoring orders again. Always to his recuse” he grumbles, and you glance at him with raised brows as Hange and Moblit leap down to help Mikasa.

“Reminds me of someone” you mutter, and he raises a brow.

“Who would that be, then?” He asks challengingly. You flash him a grin before turning back to face Eren, watching with a grimace as Hange pulls Eren out of the titan, his face falling apart.

“Who can say?” You sigh, suppressing giggles when you see the stare he’s sending your way. He sighs without annoyance, to bring to face Armin.

“Looks like there’s a long way to go before we can use Titan hardening to plug the wall”

“Yes” Armin sounds apologetic but certain. “I knew it was a long shot from the start”

“Strategically, it’s a good plan” Levi commends, and the boy lifts his chin at the praise. “Instead of lugging tons of supplies, all we need is Eren.”

“So whether or not it’s a long shot depends on him” you finish, and Levi nods. Hange calls for everyone to disperse, and you begin walking to your horse.

“Hang on, Wren” Levi calls, and you turn to face him again. “I’m headed for Trost with Hange. You’re in charge until I’m back. Keep Eren and Historia together until you’re back at the house.” Historia had told you about her childhood when you first arrived in the farmhouse. It’s a sad story, but you can see clearly now why she’s so important.

“Yes sir” you nod, tilting your head at the mirth flashing through his eyes.

“Try to get the chores done before dinner this time” he says in an almost teasing tone, and your jaw drops in mock annoyance.

“That was one time, sir! You’ll never let me forget that, will you?” You grumble, and he smirks, patting your head gently.

“Absolutely not. I’ll see you in a few days.”

“See you soon” you say, before turning back around and heading off with your squad.

Chapter Text

just a couple of things

- i changed up chapter 4 because i realised i was really unhappy with how it played out. overall not a huge difference but i suggest going back to read it again

- this won’t become a regular thing but sometimes i look back on old chapters and think ‘why did i even write that’ and decide to scrap or change parts, i’ll mention if i ever do but pls bear with me on this <3

i want you to enjoy what i write but i also want to enjoy writing it yk??

ty for sticking with me pls don’t be too surprised if i change a couple of scenes every now and again. next chap will be out soon :)

Chapter Text

By the time you get back to the house, the sun has already set. You help Mikasa carry Eren to his bed, watching his face steam gently as he heals. You spot Mikasa’s worried gaze, and your heart softens.

“He’ll be okay. He’s a strong kid” you tell her, resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She gives you a thin smile in return. You pat her shoulder before walking out the room with her beside you. The rest of the kids are lounging around in the main room, and you clap to get their attention.

“Captain should be back tomorrow. Until then, we need to begin a watch rotation. We’ll build the posts now, and we need at least 2 people on watch at all times. We can’t risk anything happening to Eren and Historia” you explain, and the kids nod in return, standing up to begin gathering supplies.

A few hours and a lot of bickering later, you’ve all built the posts and set them up outside the house, overlooking the paths. The moon is already shining, so usher the kids inside for a late dinner before guard duties start.

“Each rotation will be 6 hours” you start, pausing your meal. “I’ll take the first one once dinner’s over. Who wants to join me?” Your eyes scan over their he distant faces, before Armin raises a shy hand.

“I’m happy to” he says, and you smile at him.

“Great. We’ll head out after you’re done eating. Jean, clear up everything” you push your chair back and stand, heading to your room to grab a plain cloak and 2 rifles. You head back to the dining room and extend one to Armin, who takes it hesitantly.

“It’s just a precaution. Can’t be out there unarmed, and odm gear wouldn’t be ideal against any pursuers” you explain, and his face relaxes slightly. You head outside and climb up your post, seeing Armin do the same in your peripheral. The pair of you settle into comfortable silence for a few minutes before Armin speaks.

“Hey, Wren” you turn to face him, finding his bright blue eyes already set on you. “You’re from the Underground, right?” He asks, and your eyes widening slightly. You don’t know what prompted this.

“Yeah” you reply, scanning his eyes for malicious intent.

“What made you join the Corps?” You sigh, fighting off the foul memories as they attempt to claw their way to the surface of your mind.

“Hange sought me out down there. Said my skills would be useful in the Corps if I wanted out. No one in their right mind down there would ever turn down an offer to live on surface, and I had nothing and nobody left down there. It was an easy choice” you explain, leaving out the fine details. Armin eyes you carefully, but he doesn’t say anything else, so you switch the subject, directing the questioning towards him.

“How about you? What made you join?” His eyes light up, and you smile softly.

“Growing up, Eren, Mikasa and I would always talk about what was beyond the Walls. They never made fun of me for believing there was more out there. Have you heard of the sea?” He asks, and you shake your head. “It’s this huge body of salty water that goes on for miles. It’s supposed to have so much salt that merchants could never get it all. I’m sure it exists, and I joined the Corps so we could all see it and more together one day”

Your head spins as you try to picture that much water. “That’s amazing” you whisper, and Armin gives you a bright smile. A sudden memory flashes through your mind, catching you severely off guard.

“There must be so much more cool stuff on surface” she sighs, twirling her red hair between her fingers.

“One day, we’ll make it out and see it all together” you say firmly, and she grins, holding out her pinky.

“Promise?”

You grin back, linking your pinky with hers. “Promise”

“Wren?” Armin calls, snapping you from your haze. You meet his concerned gaze, only then noticing your misty eyes. “You okay?”

You nod, turning back out towards the trees. “Yeah, fine. You just remind me of a girl I used to know” Armin nods in understanding, and you fall back into silence.

A few hours later, Jean and Sasha come outside to relieve you and Armin, Sasha grumbling about her hunger. The sun is beginning to rise, but you feel surprisingly awake. You know you can spend a few hours later taking a nap, so you decide to take advantage of the tranquility.

You set your cloak by the door and look up at Jean and Sasha as they settle into their posts.

“I’m going for a run” you call to them, stretching out your legs. They eye you warily.

“Shouldn’t you sleep first? You just took an overnight shift” Jean responds, and Sasha nods vigorously.

You wave them off as you jog towards the treeline. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry!”

The early sunlight is peeking through the trees, leaving a mosaic of warm, sparkling lights across the ground. The forest is silent aside from the sounds of your boots hitting the ground and a few chirping birds. You take a deep inhale, savouring the crisp morning air.

You’ve just circled round a large tree when you hear a twig snap. You come to an abrupt half, listening closely as you hear bushes rustling from somewhere behind you. You turn slowly, scanning between every tree and shrub. You don’t see anything, so you slowly turn around and continue jogging down the path.

Minutes later, you’re looping back around to the house when you hear footsteps behind you. You turn again, but the thick forest obscures your vision. You decide to break into a sprint, determined to lose whoever is pursuing you. Your mind reels as run through the trees, taking random turns in an effort to keep the farmhouse’s location from being compromised.

It can’t be him. You left him in the Underground. He can’t do anything to you up here. You’re safe.

The sun is high in the sky now. You continue sprinting until your legs burn, your heart pounding in your chest. You can’t hear any more footsteps behind you, so you slow your pace to a jog, looping back around to the farmhouse whilst trying to stop your shaking hands.

You’re aware you’ve been gone for well over an hour - more than double your usual run times even after the accident - and by the way Sasha perks up, eyes frantic when she sees you, you can tell it worried them.

“Wren! It’s been ages! Where the hell have you been?” She calls, and you bring a finger to your lips, casting a final glance behind you as you stop to grab your cloak. Sasha pauses, worry flitting through her gaze.

“Keep a close eye on the woods” you supply as quietly as you can, managing a reassuring smile when they go to protest. “I’ll fill you in later, okay?” The pair nod, though they’re still on edge, and you take that as your cue to head inside.

When you step into the kitchen, you’re met with similar worry from the rest of the kids, even Eren, who woke up whilst you were out. You excuse yourself for a quick shower but tell them to get Armin up so he can hear.

Ten minutes later, you’re all sat around the long table, the vegetables the kids had been starting to prep abandoned on the counter.

“Long story short, I was followed through the woods on my run.” Connie and Historia stiffen, ans you rush to try and calm them. “I lost them well before I got back here, so we should be fine, but we need to remain on high alert. We don’t know who it could have been or what they wanted, but we need to keep this location secure” you explain, and Mikasa gives you a firm nod.

Just then, the door swings open and you shoot up, relaxing when you recognise Hange and Levi walking in. Levi raises a brow, the action not escaping him, but you ignore him and salute with the rest of your squad, grabbing Hange in a quickly reciprocated hug.

“I missed you” you murmur into her hair, and she tightens her grip, stroking your hair gently as she pulls away.

“I missed you too, honey. How are you doing?” You squeeze her hands and give her a small smile.

“Better, you?”

“Getting there” she sighs, smiling gently. You drop each other’s hands and Hange claps, calling for everyone to gather in the main room. As the squads begin to shuffle about, Levi crosses over to you, and you smile at him.

“Anything of note happen whilst we were gone?” He asks, getting straight to business, which you appreciate. He may not know it, but you need a distraction.

“No sir” you respond, locking him in the back of your mind, and he nods as you both take your seats at the table. Hange and her squad sit in the armchairs to the side, and you all get right down to business.

“Pastor Nick was murdered by the Interior Police” Hange starts, and you startle. You hadn’t expected that. “He was tortured, presumably to find out what information he had given us.” There’s a moment of silence before Levi speaks.

“How many nails was he missing?”

Hange’s eyes widen in surprise as she responds “all the ones I could see”

“If you talk, you talk after one” you say, and Levi nods in agreement. “They have no idea what we know about Historia or the Reiss family”

“But someone in the government is plotting against us” Levi finishes, sipping his tea. Just then, the door opens and Nifa from Hange Squad walks in, giving a letter from Erwin to Levi. He narrows his eyes as he reads it, then addresses the room.

“Everyone out, now. Leave no trace we were here”

-

“That was too close” Connie mutters as you watch MPs storm the house you all departed mere minutes ago. If Erwin’s note had been even two minutes later, you would’ve all been caught.

“The government has frozen all Survey Corps activity beyond the walls. We’re being ordered to hand over Eren and Historia” Levi explains, and Nifa adds on.

“The Commander was taken into custody by MPs as soon as he gave me this letter”

Hange bursts into outrage about his treatment, and Levi begins discussing next steps, but you’re having a hard time following; your mind is still drifting back to him. You startle when Levi places a hand on your shoulder, brows raised slightly. You glance around, realising the squad is all waiting, ready to move, and Hange’s already left with Moblit.

“We need to focus” he mutters, eyes scanning over your face. You straighten and nod, walking forwards to join the squad.

You won’t let him control your life. Not again.

-

The streets of Trost are bustling with life. Vendors line the streets, calling out merchandise to families roaming about. You and the squad walk together, trying not to look too suspicious. All your cloaks are plain, drawn closed to conceal your gear. Military Police are calling out something about rations and the king - you don’t care much about the royalty that abandoned you and so many others in the Underground.

“Behind us!” Levi suddenly yells, and you jump to the side as a cart zooms past. Armin and Jean, disguised as Eren and Historia, are grabbed and thrown into the cart. You’re about to sigh in relief when an arm wraps around your middle and you’re hoisted up into the cart as well, your scream muffled by a large hand holding a rag. The chloroform invades your senses, and you pass out before you can even register what’s happening.

-

Levi’s absolutely stunned.

Everything was going to plan - Armin and Jean fooled the kidnappers, and Eren and Historia were secure elsewhere. That was all a success. The part Levi couldn’t plan around was you being kidnapped as well, because that wasn’t supposed to fucking happen?

“Why are they taking Wren?” Sasha asks, spinning to face Levi. He doesn’t bother masking the shock on his face properly as he responds.

“I don’t know” there’s a beat of silence as the kids wait for Levi’s orders, which is unfortunate for him because he has no idea how to proceed. He can’t think of any reason you would be significant to the people that want Eren and Historia. Maybe they’re using you a hostage to ensure they get what they want? If that’s the case, they don’t have time to spare. They need to move before you get hurt. He schools his expression and turns to face his squad.

“We proceed as planned. Scatter on the rooftops. Mikasa, follow the cart. Connie, Sasha, you know what to do” he orders, and the kids nod, dispersing to their positions. Levi shoots up onto a rooftop, his mind reeling as he manoeuvres across the streets.

-

“What the fuck do you mean she wasn’t in there?” Levi asks, doing a shit job at keeping the anger out of his voice. Luckily, Mikasa is unaffected by his tone, too preoccupied with the missing Eren.

“We dealt with the guys, but Armin and Jean were the only ones being held in the building. We don’t know where she went” she repeats, tone distant. Levi runs a hand through his hair, dragging it down to his chin, lost in thought. If you weren’t with the other two, then you were taken for a completely unrelated reason. If only fucking Kenny of all people hadn’t shown up and ambushed them with his own squad, maybe he’d have been able to follow you and keep you from being taken away-

No. He’s not going to do that. What’s done is done, and now he’ll live with the consequences of the choice he’ll regret least. Spiralling won’t help anyone. He drops his hand and focuses his gaze, surveying the kids. Armin is still in shock from earlier, which Levi understands to an extent, but he appreciates that he’s still ready and willing to fight when they need to. These kids are still young, getting used to the evil within humans and the act of taking life, but Levi’s done his best to reassure and prepare them. The rest are nervous, unsure about leaving you wherever you are for the sake of the mission. Levi notes how close you’ve gotten with them all so quickly, and how deeply they already care for you.

Levi stands, walking over to Dimo Reeves, the merchant who was behind the kidnapping. It doesn’t take long for them to reach an agreement, and soon enough, the squad is on the move again. Reeves helps them capture two MPs, and they bring them in for questioning.

Levi pulls on a pair of rubber gloves, turning to the man strapped to a chair behind him - Sannes, who tortured and killed Nick. He glares at him, then whips an unannounced punch across his face, his nose crunching. Sannes howls, about to speak when the door flies open.

“Sorry I’m late!” Hange yells as she bursts into the room, Moblit in tow. Levi and Hange torture the man, who refuses to give up any information until he believes his comrade sold him out.

“The Reiss family are the true royals”

Both their brows shoot to the tops of their heads. “That was easy” Hange mutters. She steps forward to untie the man, but Levi hold out an arm to stop her. He walks towards Sannes, his misery a pitiful sight, and looks him dead in the eye, his voice low and threatening.

“Where was Wren taken, then? I don’t see what significance she has to you or your shitty fake king” Sannes’ brow furrows in confusion, and Hange shoots him a wide eyed glance. She didn’t know you were missing yet. She figured you were just upstairs with the kids.

“I don’t know who that is. I’ve never heard of her before, I had nothing to do with it. I swear!” Sannes insists, and dread washes over Levi. He motions for Hange to untie the man, processing the information. He was right - your abduction is unrelated to the mission, meaning he’s forced to worry about you later, and he hates it.

“What’s this about Wren being taken?” Hange demands once they lock Sannes with Ralph. Levi sighs, tearing his gloves off.

“When Armin and Jean were taken, so was she. I figured she was their hostage so we proceeded as planned. Only fucking Kenny showed up and-“

“Wait wait wait” Hange cuts him off. “Kenny the Ripper turned up? Why?”

“His squad were the ones that got Eren and Historia. Anyways-“

“How do you know him?” Hange asks, and Levi groans.

“He raised me as a kid. Now are you gonna let me fucking finish talking?” Hange holds her hands up in surrender, eyes wide at the news. It wasn’t exactly something Levi was hiding, more that he never had any reason to bring it up. “Hey I was raised and abandoned by a serial killer” isn’t exactly a great conversation starter.

“Anyways, when we recovered Armin and Jean, she was nowhere to be found. I haven’t got a fucking clue where she was taken or what they want with her” Hange’s quiet, deep in thought as they push open the door to where the kids are waiting. They brief them on Eren and Historia, as well as the true position of the Reiss family.

“What about Wren?” Sasha asks meekly when they finish. Levi sighs, meeting their gazes.

“We don’t know” he says, and a tense silence settles as the weight of his words comprehends. There’s a moment before Armin speaks up.

“She was followed” he gasps, eyes wide. Levis head snaps towards him, his eyes demanding more. “We were on watch last night. Instead of coming in to sleep, she went for a run in the forest at the end of our shift. When she came back hours later, she told us she was followed but she lost them before making it back to the farmhouse. She seemed reluctant to tell us something. I think she had an idea who it was, and maybe that’s who took her”

The silence is heavy as everyone processes Armin’s words. Levi is tense, his fists balled by his side. Suddenly, Hange gasps, speaking before Levi can demand her to.

“I have an idea of who took her and where she is. It’s a long shot, but we need to focus on Eren and Historia right now. If they took Wren with a cart and my theory is right, we have about a day or two, give or take. Let’s get moving. Levi squad, head for Reiss land. We’ll meet you there. Moblit and I will head to give Erwin a report. We’ll all head for Wren once we recover those two.”

The kids salute, confusion written across their faces as they head out to prepare to leave. Levi turns to Hange, making effort to keep his voice under control.

“Where the fuck do you think she is?” Hange’s eyes are darting around, betraying her worry for you. Wherever she thinks you are, it’s not good. The air is sucked from his lungs as Hange speaks again.

“The Underground.”

-

Your head is pounding. You wake up with a groan, trying to bring your hand up to your head only to find it bound behind you. As you gather your bearings, you realise you’re tied to a chair in a damp, dimly lit room. Panic surges through you as you whip your head up, scanning for windows. Nothing.

“Look who’s finally awake” a sleazy voice drawls, and dread chills your body as you look towards the source, your worst fears being confirmed.

He found you, and he brought you back. Just like he said he would.