Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/941316.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Shingeki_no_Kyojin_|_Attack_on_Titan
  Relationship:
      Levi/Eren_Yeager
  Character:
      Eren_Yeager, Levi_(Shingeki_no_Kyojin), Oluo_Bozad, Petra_Rall, Hange
      Zoë, Erwin_Smith, Erd_Gin, Gunther_Schultz
  Additional Tags:
      Romance, Canon-Typical_Violence, Canon_Era, Sexual_Content, Drama
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-08-25 Updated: 2013-12-09 Chapters: 13/? Words: 21315
****** Fumarole ******
by Tigerine_(sealink)
Summary
     SPOILERS FOR ANIME AND MANGA. Rated for later chapters. Eren settles
     into life at the Survey Corps headquarters. Levi has only a few weeks
     to train the youth in his charge and tame the raging Titan inside
     him, delivering humanity's savior by any means necessary. Written
     parallel to the series, this fic imagines a relationship between Eren
     and Levi in the canon world between canon events and will continue
     until the very end.
Notes
     I wanted to write a work that fit in more snugly with canon. I
     haven't written a fic like this in a long, long time, so forgive me
     if this is a little rusty starting out. Rated for later chapters.
***** Chapter 1 *****
Eren Jaeger wound the reins around his hand again, reaching down to scratch his
horse’s neck. The bay gelding was one of the trained warhorses used by the
Survey Corps to hunt the Titans. It was easily 15 hands high, two hands taller
than any other horse he’d ever ridden, glossy and well-fed, in spite of grain
shortages. Eren shifted in the saddle, rubbing one thigh absently. It had only
been a few hours, but he wasn’t used to this hunting saddle; his muscles were
beginning to ache.
“Never been on a horse before, kid?”  Auruo’s horse picked its way past fallen
branches. “Country boy like you from Shiganshina? Thought all you bumpkins knew
how to ride.” Auruo’s lip curled, exposing his teeth.
“This horse is much taller than any other I’ve ever been on, “ Eren shifted
again, “and the saddle is weird.”
“That’s a quality piece of horseflesh,” Auruo sniffed. “Can’t believe they’re
giving such a fine horse to a complete beginner.” He patted his own horse
affectionately. “I’m surprised you’re not used to riding in a hunting saddle,
though. What, did you bobble around on a plow pony in training? Bareback I
assume?”  
Eren didn’t answer.
Met with silence, Auruo sneered. “We’ll have to teach you how to ride from the
beginning if you’re going to go beyond the Wall.” He droned on, complaining
about how far away they were from the city, how little respect the Corps got,
and on and on.
Eren twisted in his saddle, stretching his back. As he turned, he looked behind
them. The wall was small and white in the distance, over the rolling, fragrant
meadows and fields that fit together like a patchwork quilt along the roads,
cairns and low stone fences marking the boundaries of property. The stand of
trees they were riding through had no such fencing, and in fact, it had been
some time since he had last seen a signpost.
His eyes slid over Petra and the supply wagons behind her. She seemed
constantly on the alert, her eyes  searching the trees they rode past, but
always, they came back to rest on him, dividing her time between mistrust of
the trees and mistrust of Eren. Next to her rode the Captain, but he made no
polite attempts to avoid staring. His pale gaze was piercing and unwavering,
boring into Eren. Even after he turned around to fix his eyes on the path
ahead, Eren thought he could still feel Levi’s eyes peeling back his muscles to
lay bare his Titan core.
Or my human core. I don’t really know which one I am, down deep. Eren pulled
the hood of his cloak closer. It doesn’t really matter. I am alive because the
Captain spoke for me. I’ll do whatever he asks me to do to keep humanity safe.
They rounded a bend in the road and their ‘new’ headquarters came into view.
The shabby castle sprawled out across the countryside. Despite the squeeze on
human resources, all available land was not yet being cultivated. Recovery from
the massive losses associated with the attempts to retake Wall Maria following
Shiganshina was sluggish. Families hesitated to have children, hesitated to buy
land from magnates, collectively holding their breath to see if Wall Rose would
be breached.
Auruo didn’t miss the silent exchange between Eren and Levi. This brat thought
he could waltz into this unit and just get all the recognition of a full squad
member?
“Hey, don’t get cocky, rookie,” Auruo snapped, ignoring Eren’s yelp of
surprise.  “I don’t care if you’re a Titan or not, just because Captain Levi
was put in charge of supervising a stupid brat like you-“  His words ended in a
burble of blood as his horse faltered on a stone in the road.  Captain Levi
kicked his horse past Auruo as he sulked silently, the iron-shoed hooves
ringing in the cobbled stableyard.  
“Get the cover off of the well and water the horses,” Levi ordered, swinging
his leg over his horse’s rump and dropping off the other side. He pulled his
mount into the stable; the rest of the group did likewise, the supply carts
rattling in behind them.  Petra left her horse saddled for the moment and came
back outside, lifting the wooden cover to the well to the side and checking the
ropes before dropping a bucket down into the darkness.
Eren dismounted, wincing as his legs straightened, and drew the reins over the
bay’s head, leading him into the stable and finding the only stall still vacant
was the one next to Levi.  He slipped the bridle and reins off, hanging them on
a nearby nail, but left his halter on. The saddle was next, and he stepped out
of the stall to hang it on one of the racks outside.
Levi was closing up his horse’s stall. “Here,” he said, offering a curry comb
and brush.  “Groom him now. You won’t have a chance later.” 
Levi turned on his heel and walked away, making a dismissive gesture with one
hand. “Get some bedding down from the loft, too.”
“Yes, sir!”
Levi stopped abruptly, his arms swinging, but didn’t turn around. Eren saw him
flex his fingers in annoyance, as if resisting the urge to punch something.
“Save your enthusiasm, Jaeger. We have a lot of work to do.”
Eren watched the Captain leave. Levi’s stride was easy, quick; he was clearly
used to long hours in the saddle. Eren’s thighs burned anew as he shinned up
the ladder and began tossing forkfuls of dry hay down onto the stable floor.
He worked in the stables and yard, following the lead of Petra and Auruo. They
cleared away weeds from the large courtyard in rear of the castle and headed in
as the sky turned gold in the evening.  The baths were cold and dinner was
rudimentary, just a crust of bread and some cheese with water. “The rest of the
staff should be here tomorrow,” Petra offered, smiling apologetically.
Levi drained his terracotta tumbler. “We have an early morning tomorrow. “ He
flicked his eyes to Eren. “Time for bed, brat.”
“Yes sir.”
Levi picked up a lamp and walked with Eren down into the belly of the castle.
The faint glow of torchlight drew them downwards, their footfalls echoing off
the stone.  A cell not dissimilar from the one in Central awaited him, dark and
windowless.  His trunk had been dropped outside the cell. Levi took a large
iron key from his pocket and opened the door.
“Get in.”
Eren stepped in gingerly, looking around.  He’d have a decent bed in this one
at least.  There was a washstand in the opposite corner and a chamber pot by
the bed. That was an improvement, too.  No privacy, but he hadn’t had that
since joining up with the Trainee Corps anyway.  Levi shoved the trunk in with
his boot and brought the lamp into the cell. The stone floor shone, recently
scrubbed.
Eren realized that Levi was watching him and he flustered under his unwavering
stare. “T-Thank you, Captain.”
 “We’ll see if you deserve any better,” Levi responded.  He looked Eren over
once. “Strip. I’ve got to chain you in.”
Eren didn’t protest, although he rankled at the idea of being chained up again.
He shucked his jacket, draping it over the end of the bed, and sat on his trunk
to remove his boots. Levi set the lamp down on the floor and reached down near
the floor to pick up a set of manacles wound through an iron ring. Levi sat on
the bed, the manacles dangling off his fingers, as Eren undressed.
“Hurry it up. I don’t need a show,” Levi said, irritated. Eren jerked in
surprise and tugged at the straps of the harness, shoving them down his legs
and stepping out. The chest harness only took a few more buckles and then it
was off too. Levi regarded him silently, and Eren felt his cheeks burning from
the scrutiny as he unbuttoned his pants and tugged his shirt off.
“Captain, there’s not a place to hang my harness-“
“What the fuck, Jaeger—“ Levi moved, the manacles clattered to the floor, his
hands were on Eren and he threw him to the bed, his other hand leaning down to
pick up one metal cuff and slam it shut around Eren’s wrist. He leaned across
Eren, slapping the other manacle around his wrist and froze as he leaned back.
Eren was grimacing in pain, his left hand clenched in a fist, but he refused to
make so much as a peep. Don’t make a noise, not this close!
Levi grabbed Eren’s forearm and examined the manacle. Some of Eren’s skin had
gotten caught in the hinge. Silently, Levi adjusted the manacle, smoothing out
the pinched skin with his thumb. Eren’s wrist was warm under his fingers, and
the youth’s nearly inaudible sigh of relief hissed like a steam vent in his
ears.
Levi stood abruptly. “Don’t take so fucking long next time,” he snapped. He
picked up the lamp and stepped out, locking the cell door behind him. Eren shut
his eyes tightly and sagged into the bed, finally able to relax without Levi’s
watchful eye on him. Exhaustion overcame him; he was lost to the world before
Levi’s footsteps faded.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Summary
     Eren gets accustomed to his new home and his new commanding officer.
Chapter Notes
     Thanks to everyone who has left comments-- they're very inspiring.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Hot, so hot. The steam peeled off the Titan in sheets as the rain pelted down
on it.  
Ten meters.  An Aberrant?  Levi could hardly see anything at ground level, but
there were no trees, no walls he could climb to get up and away. He stumbled
away, reaching for his blades as he ran.
 Nowhere to run. The ground was soggy underfoot, but he slogged through the wet
grass, his breath catching at the first thundering footstep behind him. A
sweltering blast of air ruffled his cloak and made his hair stand on end in the
cold rain. The Titan advanced, the muck sucking at its feet. He splashed
through a mud puddle, the rotting smell of mud curling his lip in disgust.  The
sodden field seemed to spread out forever.
 A stentorian roar shattered the silence and made Levi’s guts vibrate inside
him. A Titan’s roar?  A single, huge tree swam into view.  There.
Levi leapt, firing his cables and drawing his blades, swinging around the
trunk. Another roar slammed into him as he landed on a branch and turned to
face his attacker, but was brought up short by the appearance of a second
Titan.
Fifteen meters. Green eyes lit with a ghoulish fire peered out from under a
heavy crop of brown hair. The larger Titan was well-muscled; its quads rippled
as it pivoted and lunged for the ten-meter-class, bellowing. The Aberrant,
focused on Levi, hardly seemed to notice the larger Titan’s fist until its
shoulder was torn out. Fastening glassy brown eyes on its opponent, saliva
dripping from its mouth, the Aberrant dug the fingers of its other hand deep
into Eren’s flesh.
Eren.
Eren howled and wrapped his fingers around the hand that burrowed into his
muscles.  He ripped the arm off the Aberrant and cast it aside, his wound
steaming. Eren’s fist connected with the rictus grin, one punch shattering the
Titan’s jaw. It toppled and Eren’s mouth opened wide, both rows of teeth
glinting, his long tongue lolling out, a great cloud of vapor issuing forth,
like the breath of a dragon. With a wild shriek, Eren leapt on top of the
Aberrant, feet first.  A sickening crack followed the first stomp, and then
steam hid how Eren crushed the Titan’s corpse into the mud.
Levi was waiting when those green eyes turn toward him. Their eyes met, hunter
and hunter, hunted and hunted. Eren panted, a low rumble escaping his mouth,
and broke into a run, his shoulder down – he’s fast!– and crashed into the
tree—the limb shook and Levi was falling—
Levi’s eyes snapped open and he grimaced briefly, rubbing his forehead with his
hand. Titan dreams weren’t something he usually suffered from.  Never had a
Titan killed by another Titan in any of them.
Levi sat up in bed, fumbling for the knob of the lamp and turning the wick up,
wincing at the sudden brightness. A yawn escaped him as he eased out of bed and
slid his calloused feet across the cold stone floor to peer at the clock.
Might as well get a little more sleep.  The image of a titanic Eren flashed
through his mind, and with a resigned grunt, he picked up the lamp and tugged
open his door.  Just after I check on Jaeger.
The hallway beyond was dark; his lamp cast a wide nimbus around him. The torch
by Eren’s cell had burned down to embers. As he drew near the cell, he lifted
the lamp high to check on his prisoner.
Eren had wormed under the blankets, his shackled arms folded over his stomach.
Levi watched Eren’s chest rise and fall, slow and steady.  “What a fucking
brat,” he murmured out loud.
***
The rasp of the key in the lock woke Eren before Levi had even opened the door.
 “Get up, Jaeger,” Levi  said as he crossed the room, keys in hand. He offered
one shackled hand to the captain lazily, covering a yawn with the other. Levi
unlocked both of his hands silently, slipping the keys back into his pocket.
“Breakfast is at 6,” Levi tossed over his shoulder as he walked out. “Don’t be
late, brat. We have a lot to do today.”
“I hope it’s not more cleaning.” Eren heaved himself out of the bed, trudging
over to the washstand.
“It doesn’t matter what it is. You’ll do as you’re told, when you’re told, you
got that?”
There it was again— the command in his voice, the none-too-subtle threat. Eren
splashed his face with water from the washbasin, reaching for the folded towel
next to it and briskly rubbing his face and neck. He wadded up the towel and
turned to dress when Levi seemed to materialize out of thin air, and his knee
connected with Eren’s solar plexus, pinning him to the wall. Eren’s eyes
widened and he sagged against Levi. He wheezed, sucking in one great breath and
then coughing, a fleck of sputum splattering wetly on the floor.
Levi’s lip curled in disgust and he picked Eren’s head up by the hair, looking
into his face. When he spoke, his voice was deadly quiet. “Do you need
additional discipline before you learn to answer to your superiors?”  
“N-No, Captain,” Eren managed, grinding his teeth.
“See that you don’t.”  Levi stepped away, and Eren collapsed in a heap on the
floor. Levi walked lazily out of the cell and down the hall. “Don’t forget,
breakfast at 6.”
Breakfast was just Levi and his special ops squad. Petra and Auruo looked
around expectantly at the empty mess hall around them. “Did they not make it in
last night, Levi?” Petra ventured.
Levi lifted his teacup to his lips before speaking. “They did. Had some trouble
with the cargo.”  At the word ‘cargo’, his grey eyes flickered across the table
to Eren.
“Jeez, I thought moving them at night would have been less troublesome,” Auruo
grumbled. “At least she’s asleep, though.”
“Yes, for the moment,” Levi muttered.
“Who is?” Eren looked around at the squad.
“Never mind about that, brat.” Levi set his teacup back on the saucer.  “You’ll
need your maneuver gear today.” He jerked his head at the door behind him. “Go
fetch it.”
“Yes sir!” Eren answered immediately, still feeling the ache of Levi’s knee in
his guts.  Levi’s face remained motionless, but was there a ghost of a smirk
that played around his lips? Eren didn’t stick around long enough to find out.
The maneuver gear turned out to be a necessary tool in cleaning the windows. It
was a surprisingly calming task. Eren rarely got to use his maneuver gear but
there was the pain of death that waited for him to make a mistake. He steadied
himself against the stone wall, bouncing back and forth to clean the large
panes in the arched window casements.
“Jaeger, how long until those windows are done?”
“Almost done, sir,” Eren hollered down.
“Good.  Report to me when you’re done,” he replied.
Levi’s words were clearly audible, even outside, though he hadn’t ever raised
his voice. The captain’s force of personality was such that everyone was
compelled to listen when he spoke. The military trial had listened to Levi’s
skillful manipulations and all but granted Eren clemency. His team trusted him
in spite of, or perhaps because of, his brusque manner. At least, Eren thought,
you always knew where you stood with Levi, because he told you.
***
Levi’s sleep was light and fitful. He strained to hear Eren’s footfalls in the
corridor, a small knock on the door, reporting for his lockup. Surely the
little shit wouldn’t try to avoid being locked in?He turned over in bed,
checking the crack under his door for the glow of a lamp—nothing. His
irritation stewed.  Hanji might keep him into the wee hours of the morning,
prattling incessantly about her pet Titans. It gave Levi the creeps.
“You have to promise to let me do some experiments on him, Levi,” Hanji had
pleaded.
“Do whatever you like with your freakish kennel,” he said sourly. “Jaeger isn’t
part of it.”
“He’s not just yourpet, you know.”
“Begging the question that he’s anyone’s pet, Hanji,” he countered.  He trusted
Hanji implicitly, but he also found her boundless enthusiasm for the Titans
tiresome, along with her penchant for naming them, and her obvious distress
(and countervailing delight) during experimentation on her subjects. It was
much simpler when Titans were a body count. Boarding them at your headquarters
complicated things.
Something glinted in Hanji’s eyes, something knowing about the way her lips
turned up at the corners. “Sure he’s not,” she said, waving his foul look away.
“Hey, I can walk him if you’re too busy to exercise him.”
Too busy to exercise him. Levi pursed his lips as he tossed in bed, fuming.
I’ll work him to the bone right up until we leave for Wall Rose!
Chapter End Notes
     The third chapter is already underway, and we'll start seeing more
     intense interactions between Levi and Eren.
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Summary
     Eren struggles with his uncertain position in the Survey Corps after
     the death of the Titan specimens.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
Hanji somehow managed to keep talking all night, right up until the sun rose.
Eren was exhausted. The day’s work seemed forever ago and his eyelids
threatened to slide closed at any moment. He would welcome the chance to sink
into his soft bed in the quiet dungeon. He’d even welcome his dour-faced jailer
chaining him up, the weight of Levi’s hip on the bed as he leaned over to clap
the shackles on him. Eren blinked slowly, relishing the darkness behind his
eyelids, painted as it was with the flicker of the torches, and the shadows of
Levi’s face. God, I’m tired.
A commotion out in the great hall interrupted his train of thought.  Boots slid
over stone, running, then the door was thrown open. “Is Squad Leader Hanji in
here?!”
Hanji had already stood, her lips drawn into a thin, grim line, her brow
knotted.
“The Titans… the test subjects… they’ve been killed!”
Eren was not unused to seeing people come unglued. The wail that burst out of
Hanji’s mouth as she careened out of the room, the tears that streamed down her
face, they all mirrored the grief he’d seen in the faces of mothers and wives
for the past five years. He followed her to the courtyard and the steaming
piles of bones, rope restraints feebly encircling their vertebrae. The iron
nails made gruesome outlines of their limbs, the wooden timbers ringing their
corpses like gallows. Hanji was bereft, going from one disintegrating Titan to
the other, blubbering their names, her hands curled into fists in her hair.
Eren half-expected her to burn herself cradling their scorching bones.
Snatches of conversation jumped out at Eren from the milling crowd.
“—someone in the Corps?”
 “—don’t know who did it—“
“—this morning—“
“—3-D maneuver gear—“
“—these were valuable specimens. What kind of person could do this?”
Eren looked at the bones again, the misshapen skulls seeming to smile at him. A
chill ran through him and he lifted his hood to hide his face.  I can’t really
blame anyone for wanting to kill Titans.
Movement at his left elbow jarred him out of his reverie. Captain Levi stood
next to him, taking in the scene of the frantic Hanji, the damage to their
Titan research. Levi’s face betrayed no more emotion than he might reserve for
watching laundry dry, no more bothered by Hanji’s desolation than he might be
by a mild inconvenience.
“Let’s go. The Military Police will take it from here.”   Levi turned to leave.
“Y-yes.”  Eren turned to follow Levi.  The crowd parted before him, moving to
one side or the other.  Levi stiffened slightly and a familiar voice said,
“Eren—“
“Commander?” 
Irwin Smith’s face was somber.
“What’s going on?” Why would the Commander approach him? Had he done something
wrong?
The tall blond man grasped Eren’s shoulders; he wasn’t looking at the now prone
figure of Hanji as she mourned her Titans. He was looking at Eren’s face,
searching. “What does it look like to you?” His voice was low, low enough to be
caught in the din of the crowd. “Who do you think the enemy is?”
Eren was at a loss, opening his mouth and then closing it again. The question
he’d been asked was not ‘Who killed the research specimens?’ He sensed that
Commander Smith was probing for the solution to a problem Eren didn’t know
existed. Commander Smith looked over Eren’s shoulder to Levi before releasing
the boy’s shoulders. “Sorry for asking you strange questions.”  He vanished as
quickly as he’d appeared, melting into the crowd. Eren stared after him for a
few moments. What could he have meant, “the enemy”?
The crowd mingled together around him, and he turned to follow Levi, only to
find he had disappeared. Eren adjusted his hood and walked past the soldiers
that continued to arrive in the rear courtyard, pushing his way into the great
hall. People continued to huddle out of the building past him, but more than
one met Eren’s eyes and lingered, their mistrust evident in their faces.  The
realization hit him like a bolt from the blue.
If a soldier killed Bean and Sawney in spite of their value to humanity, then
any Titan could meet a similar fate.  Any Titan…
I have to find Levi.
He didn’t bother trying to walk normally, jogging over to the small door under
the side staircase that led down to the dungeon. It was only pushed to, but he
tugged it fully closed behind him, the latch clattering.
"Captain Levi?” There was no answering call, but Eren thought he could detect
the captain’s footsteps. He jumped down the stairs as fast as he dared, two or
three at a time. Finally, in the last long corridor down to the dungeons, Eren
saw him. That person was too short to be anyone but Levi.
“Captain!” Eren called out to Levi’s back. Levi didn’t turn around;  Eren
reached out and caught his shoulder. “Captain Levi, I—“
Levi’s left foot connected solidly with his ribcage, but Eren deflected the
second blow reflexively.  He almost instantaneously realized what a mistake
that had been. Levi swept his legs out from under him, a vicious light gleaming
in his eyes. Eren got to his hands and knees and Levi brought the heel of his
boot down in an axe kick between Eren’s shoulder blades, sending him sprawling.
Levi seemed to stop to collect himself, and Eren panted, pushing himself up
again. I can smell his soap.  Levi tangled his hands in Eren’s hair and drove
his knee into Eren’s temple. Holding his head, he collapsed on the floor on his
side. Levi bent over and hauled Eren up by his shirtfront with both hands,
pinning him against the wall with his body. He’s warm.
“Don’t fucking touch me again, you filth.”  Levi’s breath was ragged, and his
lips parted as if he wanted to say more, but then thought better of it. Eren
blinked an assent, working his jaw to attempt and make words. Levi slammed him
against the wall again. Eren winced. “You are detained for the rest of the day,
Jaeger.”
Eren met Levi’s cold gray eyes, matching his stare. “Thank you, sir.”
***
Hate had served Levi well for many years in his personal battle against the
Titans. He hated the Titans, he hated the walls, he hated their stupid grins,
the screams of their victims, the colossal waste of resources—they were easy to
hate.  Hate was something every soldier could tap into. Plenty of other
soldiers also had things like principles that pushed them into the war against
the Titans, jingoistic self-sacrifice writ in the face of every new turnout of
the Trainee Corps.  But what drove Levi was pleasure.
The heavy pull of his blades through a Titan’s skin, the way their jaws opened
when they died, the steaming pile of a Titan corpse. He survived by glorying in
the spray of hot blood, by relishing the crash of the Titans on the ground, the
whining song of a maneuver gear cable. What was more, Levi was good at killing.
He would have been out of place in any other time, but at the twilight of
humanity’s hope, he was a hero for killing as many fucking Titans as he could.
Their death fulfilled him, a sobering, if brutal, expression of his humanity. I
am alive. They are dead. I am alive.
Like any good pack hunter, Levi cherished the trust he developed with his
comrades. They were his family, even if they did not share the same motivations
to kill Titans. He trusted them with his life and they trusted him with theirs.
They became an extension of him in the field and he fought fiercely to protect
them from all comers. We are alive. They are dead. I am alive. 
And then there was Eren Jaeger.
Levi saw himself in Jaeger, the raw bloodlust, the talent for killing. Jaeger
took all that Levi had to offer, his knowledge and experience,  and absorbed it
easily. Eren Jaeger’s force of will alone had saved the human race at Trost.
That stirred something like admiration in Levi’s heart. If Eren ever lost
control of his Titan form…
No, better not to think about that.
Levi watched Jaeger pick himself up and lurch toward his cell. He couldn’t
quite solve Eren Jaeger yet, but beating the shit out of him had helped.
Chapter End Notes
     I don't think I've ever done two chapters in one day before, but I am
     really excited to explore the relationship between Levi and Eren
     more. Next chapter coming soon!
***** Chapter 4 *****
Chapter Summary
     Despite his reservations about Eren's usefulness, Levi agrees that
     they must try to test hypotheses about Eren's Titan form. Meanwhile,
     Eren begins to feel as if the distance between Levi and himself is
     shrinking.
Chapter Notes
     I'm really surprised and pleased by how many people are enjoying
     this! Thank you for tolerating the shorter chapter lengths; they
     allow me to increase output and keep a steady pace instead of getting
     mired down.
Levi escorted Eren to dinner that night; the mess hall buzzed with activity.
Two troops of Survey Corps members had come with the Titan research subjects
and formed the detachment responsible for planning the expedition beyond Wall
Rose. If anyone noticed the yellowing bruises on Eren’s face, no one raised the
issue in front of Levi. Eren did his best to ignore the waves of contempt that
seemed to emanate from Levi as they ate. He made no attempt to strike up a
conversation—every comment felt forced.
The mood followed them to the baths, which had blessedly had a fire lit under
the cisterns. The hot water felt amazing on Eren’s muscles. All of the events
of the past days hit him all at once and he was just so tired. It was all he
could do not to lean against the shower wall and nod off.
Eren already dozed as Levi locked his manacles around his hands, murmuring a
“thanks” to Levi, drawing his chains under the covers to warm them and dropping
off into a deep sleep.
His dreams were full of steam and blood, and he woke with a start, raising a
trembling hand to his face to rub the last vestiges of it from his eyes.
“Jaeger?”  
Eren looked up at the door to his cell. The glow of a lamp bathed the dead end
of the corridor. Levi sat in a chair with his back to Eren; Eren could only see
Levi’s right shoulder and the way his legs were crossed, pointing away from the
cell.
Levi.
The night had a way of drawing souls closer together. In ancient times, humans
believed that the veil between this world and the next drew thinner across the
darkness of a night sky. Whether the cause was something supernatural or simply
human nature, people were more honest during the night.  With each other and
with themselves.
“I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Levi’s foot shifted. “I wasn’t asleep.”         
An achingly long silence stretched between them, pressing in on Eren until he
couldn’t stand it anymore.
“I-I’m sorry for startling you earlier.”
No response.
“I just didn’t… I thought that the…” Eren sat up, leaning back in bed, his
manacles clanking as he folded his hands in his lap. “I saw Bean and Sawney and
then Commander Smith asked me who I thought was the enemy.”
Eren tilted his head back, looking at the stone ceiling. “I thought that it was
strange he’d ask me that. I thought, ‘aren’t the Titans the enemy’?”
No response.
“But then I thought more about why they were killed. Maybe Titans have
something in their body that is dangerous, something that shouldn’t be known by
everyone.” Eren closed his eyes. “So if someone wanted to keep that a secret,
they might kill the Titans, so that no one found out.”
Again, no response. Maybe he’s fallen asleep?
“I’m a Titan, too.  Or I have it in me to be one, some of the time. What if I
have that secret inside me?  I might be killed.”  Eren tried to steady his
voice, but even saying it out loud, that someone wanted to kill him, the
possibility made his stomach drop through the floor.  
“That won’t happen, unless you lose control of your Titan form.”  Levi didn’t
sound the least bit sleepy.
“Sorry if I’m not as confident as you are, Captain.” Eren looked down at the
manacles and jerked his arms, testing the chains. The shackles were really
uncomfortable, and their nightly presence were beginning to leave a ring around
his wrists. He could barely lay his arms at his sides.  Pulling against them
felt good, but the links were well-forged and eventually he let the chain go
slack. “I feel like an easy target for anyone in here.”
“Would you be more at ease if I unchained you?”
Eren’s heart stumbled in its rhythm. “Y-Yes!”
“Tough shit. When you’re chained up, you can’t injure yourself to transform.”
Levi re-crossed his legs, his top leg bouncing into view. “Until you prove you
can control your Titan form, the chains stay.”
Eren felt deflated, all the air let out of his hopes of being able to sleep
unchained. “And if I can’t control my Titan form, you’ll kill me,” he said
dejectedly.
“Yes.” Levi’s voice was firm.
Eren let out a resigned sigh. “You don’t really have a choice, Captain.”  Eren
scooted back down in the bed, tugging the blankets over his arms again. “If I
can control my Titan form, do I have to stay in this cage?”
“The cage is to protect you as much as it is to protect everyone else.”  Levi
paused, so long that Eren thought he might have dozed off, but then he added,
“It will depend on your behavior, brat.”
Eren cracked a small smile. At least he’s considering it. “I’m going to try to
get some sleep.”
Levi hummed an acknowledgment. Eren lay back down on his side, staring into the
darkness. Though he did not drop off to sleep until an hour later, it felt like
they had said all that needed to be said.
***
Eren’s candor kept Levi up long after he heard Eren’s breathing slow and
deepen. He grappled with the realities of the situation, his words at Eren’s
trial echoing in his own ears:  I know I can kill him, but I’m not sure I can
do less than that.
Levi desperately wanted to do less than kill Eren. Humanity’s disadvantage in
this war only increased with every sortie. Eren could be the key to turning the
tide in their favor, seeming to warp reality around him with his impossible
power. That power meant humanity’s victory. Eren Jaeger is a key—no, the key—to
restoring human control over Wall Maria. Without him, we would probably go
extinct. I have to think of a way to save him.
***
 “I said before that the only way to stop you when you’re in your Titan form is
to kill you.” Levi stepped up to the chalkboard and picked up a stick of chalk.
 “With this method, you can get away with just serious injuries.” Levi began to
draw a rough human figure on the chalkboard. “In short, we’ll need to cut a big
piece of meat with your human body inside it from the critical spot on the
Titan’s neck.” 
Levi drew an outline of where the incisions would be made, bisecting all of
Eren’s limbs. “We’ll end up chopping off your hands and feet in the process,
though.” He shrugged. “No big deal, since you’ll just grow them back anyway,
like some kind of freaky lizard or something. It’s gross,” Levi said.
“W-wait a second, “Eren protested. “Isn’t there some other way? We can’t be
sure that my limbs will grow back.”
“Are you saying that you want a way that has no risks, where no sacrifice is
necessary, is that it?” he challenged, his voice icy. Is your miserable little
life worth more than mine? Worth more than Erd’s? Auruo’s? Or Petra’s? Of
course it is. That’s why I will risk my life and the lives of my comrades—my
family—to make sure you are on the battlefield, fighting for humanity.
“N-no…”
“Then that’s an outcome that you need to prepare for.”  Levi set the chalk back
on the ledge in front of the chalkboard. “There’s a danger that you might be
killed in the process, but we’re in the same boat, since we’re risking death at
your hands, so relax and trust us.”
Trust us. Trust me. Levi willed Eren to accept the terms. This is all we can
do. If you can’t accept this risk, I don’t know why the fuck you’re here, or
why you joined the Corps at all.
“Yes, sir,” he said at length. “Understood.”
***
Hanji needed time to find a good location where Eren’s Titan power might be
tested, but contained. She rode out early the next morning, two members of the
Corps in tow, and returned at sunset.
“There is a gamekeeper’s cottage to the northwest,” she said at dinner around
mouthfuls of cold roasted chicken left over from the closure of the kitchen.
“The well dried up a few years ago and it was abandoned.”
Levi nodded, following her train of thought. “We’ll give it a try tomorrow,
then.”
He looked at Eren and then stood, pushing his chair back. Eren took the meaning
immediately, trailing after Levi as he headed down to the dungeon. He was
getting a little better at reading his inscrutable commanding officer, or maybe
he was just becoming sensitive to cues that always existed.
Eren had his harness half-unbuckled as they turned the corner to his cell,
already shrugging it off his shoulders, one hand tugging at his belt buckle.
Levi set down the lamp and leaned against the wall, watching Eren undress, his
face a mask of disinterest. Still, Eren felt heat flush his cheeks and he was
grateful for the strong shadows created by the lamp that hid his embarrassment.
 He climbed into bed, pulling the blankets up to his bare shoulders and looking
at Levi expectantly.
Levi slowly leaned away from the wall, walking over and picking up one of the
shackles. He sat on the edge of the bed, taking Eren’s wrist in his hand and
closing the shackle around it. Levi’s thin fingers were uncharacteristically
cool on his skin and Eren shivered, goose bumps pebbling his flesh.  Levi
lifted one eyebrow and Eren had to smother a smile with his chained hand. I
don’t think I’ve ever seen his face move that much.
“What’s so funny, Jaeger?”
Eren cleared his throat, trying to push the smile off his face with his hand.
“N-nothing, Captain.”
“Suit yourself.”
As he leaned over Eren to fasten the other shackle around his wrist, it struck
Eren how close Levi was being with him. Sitting on my bed, leaning over me like
this. As the other shackle clicked shut, Eren tried to remember if he’d ever
seen Levi this close to anyone.
***
I’m getting a little too close to this brat.
Levi had come to actually look forward to chaining Jaeger up for the night.
“Tucking him in,” as Auruo smirked. It was a nice bit of routine in an
unpredictable world. In spite of himself, he was beginning to think of Eren as
a member of his squad. Part of the family. He stepped out of the cell, locking
it behind him.
“Good night, Captain.”
Levi rolled his eyes, but kept walking. “Sweet dreams, you fucking brat.”
***** Chapter 5 *****
Chapter Summary
     Spans the events of Episode 20 of the anime and Chapters 25/26 of the
     manga. Eren steams up his cell and a field inside Wall Rose in
     completely different ways.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
I can’t wait any more.
The pressure on top of him was warm, insistent.
For you.
The smell of fine milled soap.
I have wanted this—for so long.
The sensation of heat on his neck, teeth nipping at his throat.
I need—you
The sound of ragged breathing and the rustle of clothing. His mouth covered by
a kiss, voracious, demanding, fingers at the back of his neck, in his hair.
Eren—
A hand slid over his hips, searching, finding, stroking.  Pale grey eyes
flicked downward, and then a flash of heat, a bolt of electricity straight to
the base of his skull. His head was spinning; he arched up, moaning against
Levi’s mouth.  He was never going to be able to last.
Eren woke with a low moan, his cock jerking against his belly as he came. His
arms were twisted; he’d managed to bunch up his blankets between his legs.
 Ugh. What a mess. He realized with a start that the lamp—Levi’s lamp – was
sitting out in the hall, but the chair that Levi sat in was empty. 
“Oh thank—thank goodness,” he couldn’t help breathing out loud. How mortifying
would that be, seeing the man he’d just dreamed about kissing staring at him as
he came in his sleep.  Instinctively, he rearranged the blankets, trying to
cover himself.
Rubbing his face with his hands, he couldn’t purge the image of Levi hovering
over him. I just dreamed about my commanding officer, about kissing him. He
clapped his hands over his face again, his chains clinking. And not just any
commanding officer, but Captain Levi. “You have got to be fucking kidding me,”
he grumbled into his palms.  
“Should someone your age really be using language like that?”  
Levi’s voice made Eren’s skin crackle. Eren snapped his head up. “S-Sorry,
Captain.”
“It was a joke.” Was that a smirk on Levi’s face?
“S-sorry, Captain.” The apology slipped out again before he could stop it. This
is… really bad.Eren squeezed his eyes shut. Really, really bad.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Jaeger?”  Levi sat, facing away from the
cell, a slim book on his lap. “Nightmare?”
“Something like that.” Eren’s hands were shaking.
“Want to talk about it?” Levi sounded utterly disinterested in hearing about
it.
“No.” Eren fell back into his pillow and shoved his hands under the covers.
Distinctly aware of Levi’s presence, he slipped his underwear off under the
blanket as discreetly as he could, using them to mop up the congealing semen on
his stomach and stuffing them between the mattress and the bedframe.
No, I do not want to fucking talk about it.
***
The well was deep and mostly dry; the lack of rain in the days prior meant it
was only soft earth instead of deep mud, but it still stank of rotting things.
Eren looked up at the circle of sky and the silhouettes of Levi and Hanji.
“When I’m ready, I’ll fire a smoke round.” Eren could hear the glee in Hanji’s
voice. “What to do next is up to you!”
“Understood!”
Eren waited in the cool well, his fingers flexing. He couldn’t help but feel
apprehension at the thought of turning into the Titan again. The hiss and
whoosh of a signal pistol were faint, but the green smoke round that grew in
the circle of sky made him grit his teeth.  
I haven’t tried it since the operation to plug the hole. What if I lose
control? The signalling round above him unfurled in the gentle breeze.I might
not have to worry about an assassin in the Corps’ headquarters.  I might just
get killed by Levi’s squad. 
Steeling himself, he took the fleshy part of his thumb between his teeth and
bit down. Pain wracked his body and he slowly, shakily, took his hand out of
his mouth, recoiling at the feel of his flesh against his own teeth. What? It
didn’t work?
He tried again, his teeth slicing into the meat of his palm. His knees were
going weak and he saw black spots bloom in front of him. No… try the other
hand!
There was no hesitation in his bite. Blood filled his mouth, painted his teeth
red. He spat it out. Again, he bit, the blood gushing out. The pain of each
bite jangled his nerves like alarm bells, until his whole body rang with agony.
Eren blinked back tears as his hands began to throb.  He looked at his bloody
hands, the deep, round grooves made by his teeth pulsing, filling and emptying
with his heartbeat.
The people that had been bitten in half by Titans, their bodies had been neatly
cut out in half-moons by teeth… by teeth just like his.
Under his skin, his veins were blue-purple. Maybe there, at my wrist. Maybe
that will be enough.
“Did you manage something?” Hanji’s voice was hopeful.
Eren looked up at the figures above him. “H-hanji,” he stammered. “I can’t seem
to turn into a Titan…”
The silence from Levi was deafening to him.
***
Levi’s displeasure was obvious. He hadn’t even been able to be near Eren while
Petra bandaged his hands. Auruo and Erd gave him a wide berth as they set up
the small stove to boil water for tea. Mike and Gunther likewise busied
themselves setting up field chairs and a collapsible table.
So Eren Jaeger’s Titan power wasn’t the boon we wanted it to be. So it wasn’t
reliable. Levi clenched his fist. Thank God they’d tried it out. Thank God they
hadn’t actually wasted anyone’s fucking life on this brat.
His black mood even extended towards the people not in his squad; Levi snatched
the tin cup from the Corps member that offered it to him, stalking out beyond
the table to collect himself. Taking a deep breath and trying to control his
anger, he blew on it gently. 
There must be some other way to activate it. He narrowed his eyes, filtering
through his knowledge about Titans and Eren Jaeger.   Maybe he needed other
Titans around? Was there some kind of hive mind at work? No, he’d been alone
when he transformed with the initial team that entered Trost. Danger? Did he
have to be in danger for it to work? Levi’s lips twisted cruelly. I could
arrange danger. Having gotten control of himself he took one more deep breath
and then turned around.
Eren looked absolutely miserable. He hadn’t even touched his tea. He was
rubbing his bandaged hands; Levi could see the darkness of drying blood under
the white gauze.
“The wounds you got when you bit your hands didn’t close up?”
Eren avoided his probing stare. “No.”
Levi glowered at him. “If you lose your ability to transform into a Titan, our
plan to plug the hole in Wall Maria, which is riding on that ability, will go
down the fucking drain.”
Eren had met his stare as Levi delivered the dressing-down, but lowered his
eyes at the mention of Wall Maria. Levi knew he’d hit a nerve; he regretted
resorting to bullying, but... Maybe this will motivate him.
“I am ordering you: do something about it!”
“Yes, sir…” Eren’s voice was soft.
Fucking hell, this kid. Levi turned on his heel and walked off in a different
direction.
“Don’t you think that’s a little harsh, Levi?” Petra came over to smooth his
feathers. She always approached the other members of the team when there’d been
a disagreement.
“No.”  
“I mean, don’t you think this is kind of good?” She smiled a little. “I’m kind
of relieved.”
“Why?” Levi made a face. “This is a shit sandwich, Petra. We can try to talk
about how much we enjoy eating it, but it is still a shit sandwich.” He
scowled. “We are depending on him to make this work. If it doesn’t work, then
we’ll have problems. Bigger problems than a few days wasted in the countryside
looking at a fucking hole in the ground. Bigger problems than not being able to
retake Wall Maria.”
“What do you mean, Levi?” Her voice was cautious, that of someone who probably
didn’t really want to hear the answer.
“Never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything.” He lifted his cup to drink from
it again and nearly choked as a blast of heat and steam hit his back.
Heat and steam… but no roar. That means…
Dropping his cup, he strode into the hot vapor. The steam burned his lungs,
stinking of metal and ozone. The unmistakable sound of blades sliding from
their cases prompted Levi to leave his in his maneuver gear. Must get to him
before they do.
“Wh-Why now?!”  Eren’s voice was frantic and confused.
“Calm down.” The vapor drifted away, and, as he’d expected, the entire team
ringed them with their blades drawn.
“Captain Levi! Th-This is..!”
“I said, calm down, men.”
“Eren! What’s the meaning of this?!”  Erd couldn’t tear his eyes from the bones
and muscle of the Titan arm.
“Eh?!” Eren sputtered, clearly as confused as anyone about what had happened.
“Why did you do it now, without an authorization?! Answer me, damn it!”
“Hold it, Erd.” Didn’t anyone understand? Couldn’t they see how dazed, how
afraid Eren was?
“Answer the question, Eren! What did you try to achieve by doing this?” Auruo.
Mad suspicion raged behind his eyes.
“No, that will come later.”  Gunther stepped closer. He had been able to stop
looking at the horror of bones Eren was on top of, or his anger had overridden
his desire to make absolutely sure it wasn’t moving. He was looking directly at
Eren.  “First, prove to me that you’re not hostile towards us! Or towards
humanity!”
“Eh?!” Eren was helpless before their onslaught. He can’t even defend himself.
Wouldn’t he have done something by now, if he could?
“Prove it! This instant! You owe us that!” Gunther brandished his blades; they
glinted in the afternoon sunlight.
“The moment that hand of yours so much as twitches, you can kiss your fucking
head goodbye, you got it?” Auruo yelled, spittle flying from his mouth. “I
ain’t kidding, I’m more than capable of taking you. Wanna try me?”
“Auruo! I said calm down!”
“Captain, get away from Eren, please!” Petra was panic-stricken. “You’re too
close, it’s dangerous.”
“No. It’s all of you that need to get away from him.” Levi was growing
frustrated with his thick-headed team. None of them could ignore the grotesque
musculature of Eren’s titan arm long enough to see the fear painted on his
face. Eren was far from the most dangerous person in this situation. Levi
hardened his voice. “Step back. Now.”
“But why?!”
“Intuition.” The word was out of his mouth before he could think about it.
It wasn’t enough for his squad. For the first time, his word wasn’t enough for
them. They continued to demand explanations. They demanded that he not move and
also that he show them proof of his good intentions. They screamed at him,
their voices becoming even shriller, even more crazed. Not good.
“Could you all just shut up for a moment, please?!”
Oh. So he found his voice.
“EREN!!” Hanji stumbled up, pushing Gunther out of the way. “Can I touch that
arm of yours?!? Can I?!! It’s okay, right?! I’ll just touch it and that’s all,
I promise!!!”
“Hanji, wait a second—“
There was an audible sizzle as Hanji clapped both hands on the exposed bones
and muscles of Eren’s Titan arm. She screeched and babbled, swinging her hands
around to cool them.  “Isn’t it hot where you’re touching it? I’m dying to
know!”
Levi turned to look at Eren and watched closely as he tried to pull himself
free. It seemed that the Titan muscle fibers had completely encased his hand,
binding to his skin. Eren grunted and tugged and finally ripped free of the
Titan arm; he fell back, ass-over-tip, onto the ground behind him. Good. Good
work, Jaeger. They can see that you’re free of it now.
Hanji and the rest of the squad watched the Titan body begin to sublimate,
Hanji moaning about all the opportunities she was missing. Levi turned and
walked to Eren’s side.
“Captain…”
“How are you feeling?” Levi looked Eren over for obvious damage. He had turned
pale, but his cheeks had a high color, as if he had a fever. He was drenched in
sweat. Extracting himself from the Titan is not easy to do, it seems.
Eren panted for air and swallowed hard before he replied. “N-not so good.”  He
dropped his head down again, gasping.
“Petra, cold water. Now!” Levi barked.
Petra was at his side in moments with a large canteen. She’d even thought to
bring a cup. Levi filled the cup with it and offered it to Eren. He took it
gratefully, downing it in one long series of gulps. Levi offered him the
canteen, but Eren waved it away weakly.
“Can’t…”
Levi pressed the back of his hand against Eren’s forehead. He’s burning up!Levi
loosened his cravat, drawing it from his neck with a silken hiss. He held it
over Eren’s head and poured most of the contents of the canteen over it. Eren
closed his eyes, shivering at the water running down his back. He offered the
damp cloth to Eren, holding it against his flushed face. Eren pressed it
against his face, his eyes fluttering closed.
Levi watched him like a hawk. “Better?”
“Better, Captain.”
Chapter End Notes
     Don't know if we quite earned an explicit rating yet, but we will! WE
     CAN DO IT!
***** Chapter 6 *****
Chapter Summary
     Levi offers Eren advice on trusting people and Eren asks to try
     turning into a Titan again.
“We’ll wait downstairs,” Levi said, waving the rest of his team into the mess
hall. “Send someone when you’re ready.”
Mike and Petra lingered, watching Levi lead Eren down into the dungeons. They
walked down the stairs. Eren hadn’t said much of anything in the past hour; he
seemed focused on just putting one foot in front of the other. He followed
dumbly along as they slowly descended into the bowels of the castle. He didn’t
even pause when Levi turned right instead of left at the junction.
Rejection is hitting him pretty hard. Levi shrugged out of his jacket, walking
into his room, going after another cravat. It was one thing to be rejected by a
lover—any man could get over that. It was another thing entirely to be rejected
by people you thought of as friends.
Levi lifted a carefully rolled length of silk out of the top, letting it
unfurl; he caught the small dowel it was wrapped around in his hand.  He turned
to face the mirror, to find Eren standing dumbly in the doorway. At least he
had the sense to stop before he actually entered without permission.
“Care to come in, Jaeger?”  Levi asked sarcastically. He unbuckled the front
clips of his chest harness and let it hang from his belt.
Eren blinked, finally registering where he really was. “C-captain!”  Eren
averted his eyes, looking around Levi’s room, a touch of redness in his cheeks.
“Are you still feverish?”
“No.”
“You look flushed.”
“I’m fine.”  The blush spread and Levi picked up on it within moments. Oh, I
see. That is… interesting.  
“Don’t get too comfortable,” Levi said as he pulled his shirt collar together.
“You’ll need to talk to them.”
“Y-yes, sir,” Eren mumbled.
Levi began winding the length of fabric around his neck, folding and crossing
the single layer until it fluffed out prettily at his throat. He tugged at it
until he was satisfied and then pulled his shoulder harness back up, clipping
it back in place at the belt.
Eren was waiting by his cell when Levi rejoined him, pulling his jacket on.
“I’m not going to put you in that box,” Levi said, fitting the collar of his
jacket snugly against his neck.  
“You’re not?” Eren’s surprise was genuine.
“No.”  Levi leaned against the wall near the stairs, folding his arms in front
of him.
Eren sat wearily down on the lowest of the steps that led down into the
dungeon, folding his arms and leaning forward on his knees. He stared off into
the middle distance for several minutes before he spoke.
“I… I know that I’m still alive only because I’m here…”  Eren seemed to shrink
into himself. “I also know that I’m a potential enemy to humanity. It’s
just…until the moment I experienced their open hostility I didn’t notice… that
they don’t trust me.”
 “Of course they don’t. That’s why I chose them in the first place.”  Eren’s
surprise was plain on his face and Levi winced inwardly at his naïveté.  You
really are just a rookie, brat. 
“You become a full-fledged soldier after returning alive from your first
mission. That’s what most of the Corps thinks. But those guys have managed to
live through hell not once, but countless times, and it bore its fruit: they’ve
learned how to survive.”  All of us did. We had to, after the Fall.
“When you’re up against Titans, there’s always a lack of information. No matter
how thorough your planning is, lots of situations you can’t make heads or tails
of will come up anyway. When that happens, your best chance is speed and
ruthless action based on your prediction of the worst case scenario.” Levi
surprised himself.  Mentoring wasn’t usually something he engaged in.
But I want him to succeed.
We covered the retreat at Shiganshina, we paid for tens of thousands of
civilians with the blood of our finest soldiers. We traded our lives wholesale
for farmers and merchants and peasants. And then, the king… he flung them back
against the Titans in that disastrous attempt to take Wall Maria, only so their
corpses would rot between Rose and Maria, so that we didn’t have to deal with
the epidemic that would surely have followed the famine.
 We have paid double—triple—the blood price of survival.
I need him to succeed.
Levi scuffed his boot against the floor, easing his weight from one foot to the
other. “Still, it doesn’t mean they’ve turned into a heartless mob. It’s not
like they didn’t feel anything when they raised their blades against you. But
don’t expect them to regret it.”
***
By dinner, the team was easing back into communicating with each other. They
struggled to keep the topics of conversation light: Mike mentioned that a cat
and her kittens had been found in the hayloft on top of the stables and were
now being cared for. Petra said that another supply wagon would be there in the
next two days with provisions they’d requested yesterday. Auruo offered to go
horseback riding with Gunther, Erd and Eren. The piecemeal niceties got them
through the meal, but they didn’t linger for tea.
The mess hall emptied fairly fast as darkness descended on the castle; the
fewer candles and gallons of lamp oil they burned, the better off they, and the
kingdom, were. There were few, if any places where this ethic of sacrifice did
not permeate everyday life. Save your gas, save your blades, and you might save
your lives.
Levi stayed seated as the rest of his team drifted away, resting the fingers of
his right hand in the saucer, sliding them along the inside rim. He traced the
same arc several times before picking up the cup and drinking from it. Eren
stayed with him, quiet, his hands folded in his lap. 
Finally, Levi picked up his cup to drink, and found nothing but dregs.  He set
the cup down and then stood slowly.
“Let’s go.”
Eren stood and they walked down to the dungeons, Eren following obediently.
“Actually, Captain?”
“Yes?”
“I don’t… think I can sleep.”
“And what would you like me to do about that?”
Eren was glad that Levi was walking in front of him, so that the blush he knew
was creeping up his neck would be missed. “A-actually, I’ve noticed that you
sit outside my room at night, so you don’t sleep either…”
Levi stopped, turning to look at Eren. “Again, brat, what the fuck would you
like me to do about that?”
“Couldn’t I read for a while? Or write a letter?”
Levi lifted an eyebrow.  “No one is supposed to know where you are.”  He turned
and began walking again. “Do you own a book?”
“No.”
“Of course not.” Levi turned the corner towards his room. “So I’m supposed to
loan you one of mine, is that it?”
“Yes, sir…”
Levi opened his room and disappeared inside for a moment. Eren waited and Levi
returned momentarily with a small red-covered volume and a candle. “I’d
appreciate it if you didn’t take it out of these rooms, please.”
Eren took them gratefully and couldn’t suppress an enthusiastic “Yes sir!”
Levi rolled his eyes and walked down the hall to Eren’s cell, unlocking it and
leaving the door open.  Eren walked in and set the candle down on his trunk
before sitting down on the bed and opening the book. The leather cover creaked,
and the smell of old paper was pleasant. It reminded him of the forbidden books
Armin had shown him as a child. He carefully turned the pages, discovering that
this book was a collection of folklore. The stories were all familiar to him,
from Catskin to the Six Swans. It wasn’t something that he’d really expect Levi
to have, but many books were so rare that people purchased whatever was
available.
Levi seated himself in his chair out in the hall, a book on his lap. He had a
pen and wrote in it silently. The scratching of his pen and the occasional
sound of turning pages made restful noise. It was a pleasant way to pass the
time and soon he found his eyelids getting heavy. Eren blew out the candle and
carefully stored the book in his trunk before stripping down and sliding under
the covers.
“Captain?”
“Yes?”
“My… transformation today…”
“What about it?”
“I did it accidentally. I can’t control it.”
Levi’s pen stopped moving. “You said as much upstairs.” He turned in his chair.
“Was there something else you wanted to add?”
“If I can’t control being a Titan, then…” Eren hesitated before continuing,”…
doesn’t that mean I’ve violated the probation the court set for me?”  
Levi sighed and closed his book, standing. “Jaeger, I have already told you
that I am going to be the one to kill you if you lose control.” He came in the
cell and took out the shackle keys. “No one else.”
“Again, that’s not exactly comforting.”
“It’s not intended to be comforting.”
“Can we try again tomorrow?”
Levi frowned as he sat down on the bed next to Eren, one of the shackles in his
hand. “You don’t know if you can control it. We have even less reason to
believe that after today, actually.” He clipped the first shackle around Eren’s
hand.
“But if we don’t try it again, how will I ever learn to control it? How can I
ever be useful as a Titan?”
Levi reached across Eren, pulling up the other shackle and closing it around
Eren’s wrist. “You could be asking to be put to death tomorrow.”
Eren jerked one chained hand until the chain was taut. “Until I can control it,
I don’t have my freedom. Until I can control it, I am not a member of your
squad, I’m just an animal you look after in a cage,” he said bitterly. “And we
might as well get it over with.”  
“You trust me to kill you, but you also trust me to save you.”
“I don’t have a choice.”  Eren looked up, meeting Levi’s eyes steadily and
didn’t look away, even when color crept stealthily into his cheeks.  The last
time he’d looked into Levi’s eyes this long had been during the dream when
he’d—
“What’s with that intense look, Eren?”
Eren.
The drone of his voice, the soft susurrus of his breath, the intimacy of his
name made Eren’s toes curl. He swallowed hard against the lump that suddenly
rose in his throat. Eren’s eyes flicked down to Levi’s lips, only for an
instant, only to blink. When Eren looked back up, Levi’s pale eyes had
darkened. He saw Levi’s eyes glance down for the briefest moment and then
return to meet his. Eren thought his heartbeat must be audible, as wildly as it
thudded in his chest. Levi gathered the blankets in one fist, close to Eren’s
shackled hand. Barely able to trust himself with breathing, Eren slid his hand
towards his captain’s. Levi’s eyes followed his fingers, but Eren didn’t look
away from his face, taking in the way his lips had parted, how his tongue
flicked out to moisten them. But when Eren’s fingers touched his, Levi snatched
his hand away as if scalded.
“I should go.” His voice was raspy.
“Y-yeah,” Eren said; his throat was as dry as Levi’s.  “Good night, Captain,”
he managed.
But Levi locked the cell, picked up his lamp and book, and left without another
word.
***** Chapter 7 *****
Chapter Summary
     After Eren's request to find a way to control his Titan form, Levi
     hits on the best motivation for him: the trust of his team.
“He asked to try again?”
“Yes.” Levi sipped his morning coffee. “Is it advisable?”
Hanji stared off into the middle distance. “I’ve thought about it and there are
several barriers to a successful test of Eren’s abilities.” She picked up her
coffee cup. “The first is getting him to a full manifestation of his power.”
She drank from the cup and set it down. “The second is retrieving him from the
fully empowered Titan form.”
Levi fiddled with the saucer under his coffee cup.  The hand had been large,
but not the size of a fifteen-meter class Titan. Still— “I don’t think the full
manifestation of his power is a great obstacle.”
Hanji nodded. “I agree. I have been thinking about his transformations and
reading the depositions of the soldiers who saw his Titan form.” She leaned
forward onto the table, the strange light of fervor in her eyes.
Levi narrowed his eyes. “Go on.”
“For example, when he needed to carry the boulder, he created a full
manifestation.” She wrinkled her brow. “But when he needed to protect his
friends from a cannon shell, he only created a torso. And yesterday—“
“The arm, holding the spoon.”
Hanji nodded. “Generally speaking, his will informs the transformation. He
seems to only transform for the goal he sets for himself.” She sipped her
coffee. “I have no doubt that he can produce a transformation suitable for any
task we can give him.”
“The challenge is motivating his will.”  We just have to find a way to motivate
him.
Hanji smiled brightly at Levi. “Say, Captain, you’re really good at figuring
this stuff out. Are you sure you wouldn’t like to help with some experiments on
Eren?”
To Hanji’s surprise, he didn’t immediately reject her offer. “Can we take him
out again today?”
“Well that gets back to the other part of using his power: getting him out of
the Titan when the job is done.” Hanji stroked her chin thoughtfully. “I am
still trying to figure out how the Titan shifter abilities interact with his
human body. Why didn’t his bites yesterday heal immediately?”
“They were completely healed after he made the Titan arm.“
“Yes, you noticed that too?” Hange laced her fingers together, pressing her
lips to her steepled hands. “I still can’t figure him out.”
Levi pursed his lips and then finished the last of his tea. “It’s less
important than getting his transformation stabilized. We can’t use him until—“
and Levi stopped mid-sentence, seeing at the other end of the mess hall exactly
the kind of thing that would motivate Eren.
***
Gunther scratched the back of his head, looking around at the rest of the team
with an unsure expression. “I can’t speak for everyone else, but this seems
really…”
“Dangerous?” Auruo spat. “The worst idea I’ve ever heard?” He looked at Levi
suspiciously. “Did Hanji put you up to this?”
“Firstly, it wouldn’t matter if she had, because she is the foremost mind in
Titan science,” Levi said coldly. “And secondly, she didn’t.”
“It’s really… I don’t like you putting yourself in danger like that, Captain!”
“I agree with Petra, Captain.” Erd said. “It’s too unreliable. Even if we are
ready for a Titan if one comes out, he could kill us.” He rubbed his jaw with
his hand. “Or worse, we could kill him.”
“How is that worse?!”
“You think the brass would lose their ace in the hole so easily? How long would
it take to put him down without killing him, Auruo? Hours? Days?” Erd retorted.
“Leave that to me.” Levi said, leaning over the table, his fingers wrapped
around the edges. He leveled an appraising glare at each of them. “If you can
trust him, this will work.”
“Do you trust him, Captain?”  Mike spoke for the first time.
Do I trust Eren? Levi thought back to the night before, to the electric way
Eren’s touch had lit up his nerves and the way he wished he had pinned him down
against that uncomfortable mattress and stolen his breath.
But more than that, he thought of the loneliness in Eren’s voice, the way he
had pulled against the chains that bound him up in the dungeon and asked for
freedom. All he wants is to belong somewhere. Here, with us. Levi looked around
the table at his squad. With this family. Levi leaned back up, dragging his
fingertips over the table. “Yes. Yes, I trust him.”
“Tch,” Auruo said, an uneasy look on his face. “I don’t trust him. However,” he
continued, standing up from his chair, “I am willing to try it.  If you think
it can help.”
Petra pursed her lips and then stood, putting her hands on the table next to
Auruo’s. “Me too.” Auruo’s scowl softened as she looked at him and nodded. 
Levi turned his eyes expectantly on the other members of the team. Mike nodded
slowly at him, and then Gunther and Erd traded glances and sighed.
“Ah, I’m so glad to hear that all of you will do this!” Hanji said, clapping
her hands together. “We should hurry if we’re going to make use of the
daylight.” She stood and walked out of the room, prattling excitedly. The rest
of the squad began filing out, and though they were quiet, Levi couldn’t miss
the undercurrent of unease. I really, really hope you can control that thing,
you brat.
***
The plan was the same, with a small change; instead of leaving Eren alone down
in the well, Levi would encourage his transformation from the top, one cable of
his 3-D maneuver gear anchored in the timbers of the nearby cottage.  Once
transformed, if he could control the Titan, Eren would climb out and then sit
and wait for orders. Hanji’s words rang in Eren’s ears: “We won’t have any way
to communicate with you once you’re transformed, so you must follow the plan!”
The plan.Eren looked up at the sky, bright blue without a cloud in sight. It
would be a beautiful day to die if it didn’t work.
“Oi, Eren.”
He said my name again. Eren felt heat and tension gather in his muscles and
stretched instinctively to relieve the feeling. Levi leaned over the edge of
the well. “They’re all in position,” he said. “Try it whenever you’re ready.”
Eren looked doubtfully down at his hands, at the unbroken skin of his thumb.
What if it doesn’t work? What if I can’t do it again?
“I’m sure that four-eyes will be yelling at you the entire time, but try not to
stomp on her. She’s quite valuable.” 
“Was that a joke?” From Levi?
“Well...” Levi’s face was almost smug. I guess I’m getting used to his humor.
 “Hey, Eren,” Levi called from above. “It will hurt when I cut you out of the
Titan, won’t it?” His face was an inexpressive mask, his voice as flat as ever.
“Sorry about that. In advance.”
Eren blinked and then looked down at his hand. “I guess…”  He flexed his
fingers and then looked back up at Levi. Is he… afraid of hurting me?
“If you do this, Eren—“Levi paused. “I won’t chain you up tonight.”
No more chains.He looked at his hand. Freedom.
Eren didn’t even check to see if Levi had gotten clear before he bit down.
***** Chapter 8 *****
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The explosion ripped through the earth, shattering the stones that lined the
well and sending up a haze of steam and dust. Shielding his eyes from the grit,
Levi saw splinters of hot yellow light knit together the billowing reek and the
sky. The stink of ozone and Titan hit him like a wall, and the roar that split
the heavens deafened him like thunder directly overhead.
“Captain!”
Petra’s scream rent the air, too late. Eren’s head darted through the fog and
his flat teeth closed around the edge of Levi’s cape. Eren tossed his head
back, jaws slightly open, and Levi slid into the gaping maw.  The teeth closed
around him until Levi could feel his soft insides begin to yield under the
pressure.
“JAEGER!” yelled Levi, apoplectic, and the pressure on his chest and stomach
eased. Rage shook Levi. How dare he pick me up with his rancid Titan mouth!?
How dare he touch me when I expressly forbade him??
He could see Eren’s eyes, green and luminous, rolling slightly in their
sockets. He reached for his blades, wishing he had drawn them before Eren
transformed. The teeth had one arm pinned, but if he could just reach the other
one…Sorry for this, Eren, but I am going to stab the shit out of you.
Levi heard 3-D maneuver gear cables fire and saw Auruo on one side of Eren’s
head, his blades drawn and teeth gritted. The jaws began to tighten around him
again.
 “EREN!!!” Levi screamed.
From his vantage point, Levi saw the moment Eren gained control. A third eyelid
swept across unfocused, lamp-like orbs and swept back, revealing eyes sharp
with intelligence. An anguished noise howled past Levi as the jaws opened and
Eren’s long tongue pushed Levi out. Levi hit the ground and rolled to his feet,
covered in saliva and dirt. I’m going to kill this fucking kid.
Eren’s head fell back and he cried out again, ululating, his strange Titan
voice echoing off the trees. Levi fired a cable into Eren’s shoulder and pulled
himself up, steadying himself by holding on to Eren’s hair. From here, he could
see that the Titan’s arms were pinned inside the well.
“Jaeger, I’m going to beat the shit out of you if you don’t stop making all
that fucking noise,” he said into Eren’s ear. And Eren stopped baying. “Thank
God,” he heard Auruo grumble from the other side of Eren’s head.
“Captain, are you okay??” Petra was beside herself with panic.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Levi pressed a hand to his ribcage and abdomen, pressing into
his flesh to feel for bruising. “No thanks to this shitty brat,” Levi said,
kicking Eren in the neck with the flat of his boot.  Eren emitted a low,
geckering whine.
“That’s the most pitiful noise I’ve ever heard, Jaeger,” Levi said. “I’ve heard
puppies being drowned that made less pitiful noises than that.” 
Levi smoothed his hand along Eren’s knife-like ear. He’s so warm.Using Eren’s
hair as a guide rope, he swung around behind Eren’s head and anchored himself
with one cable in Eren’s shoulder.  He fired another cable into Eren’s back,
and Eren didn’t even flinch.
“Hey, Eren,” he said, as Auruo moved to the same position opposite him. “We’re
going to begin cutting now.” 
The first chunk of flesh he cut out began healing immediately; Levi kicked it
off Eren’s back while Auruo kept the wound open. Even though Eren shrieked,
Levi’s blade did not waver. Another precise, deep cut and he could see Eren’s
head. The wound began closing faster and Levi sawed away at the meat. Eren
growled and snorted, great clouds of his hot breath pouring out of his mouth,
shifting under Levi’s feet with every slice of the blades. Finally, he was able
to get his hands under Eren’s arms and strained to lift him up out of the
Titan’s body. “Auruo, cut—there!” 
Auruo cleanly cut Eren away, severing the web of fibrous tissues that connected
Eren to the Titan. Levi pulled him free with a wet, sickening crack and the
Titan body began to sublimate. Eren’s eyes were closed, his face red and
pockmarked where the fibers had connected him. Levi hefted Eren up over his
shoulder in a fireman’s carry and eased down the Titan’s shoulders to the edge
of the well. 
“Levi!” Hanji called as she ran up. “Are you okay??” And then that fervor lit
up her eyes. “How did it feel being in his mouth? What did the teeth feel
like?” Levi coughed to cover up the sound of protest that escaped him. No one
else but you was thinking about that kind of being in his mouth, you idiot.
“Just… make sure he’s okay.” Levi stepped away, rubbing the back of his neck
and sighing while Hanji took his vitals. So much happened all at once.Levi
preferred not to dwell on the sensation of being surrounded by a Titan’s mouth.
It hadn’t been his first, but he had really wanted that one other time to be
his last. Eren had realized his error and released him, not a moment too soon.
“Captain, he’s coming around!” Hanji said excitedly.
“Try to give him some space, Hanji.”
Eren’s eyes opened weakly. “Captain…”
“Yes?”
“Sorry… about the bite.” A small smile flirted around his lips.
“Not yet, you’re not,” Levi snarled. He was caked in Titan spit and filth. I’m
going to KILL him.
***
“I think that’s all, Eren,” Hanji said, looking over the production from the
pantograph. “Now I have a copy for the records and for my own notes.” Hanji
couldn’t hide her excitement. The discovery of the copying machine in the tower
during the initial cleanup of the castle had prompted Hanji to declare the room
at the top of the turret her office rather than risk moving the delicately
tuned device.  “Thank you very much for your input!” Her eyes gleamed and she
clutched the copy to her chest.
Eren smiled at Hanji. “Glad someone was able to get some use out of that.” He
glanced over at Levi, who had a half-scowl on his face. It was well past
nightfall, but Hanji had begged to be able to record Eren’s memory of being in
the Titan before they slept.  As soon as Hanji thanked Eren, Levi was on his
feet.
“Come on, brat,” he said irritably, grabbing Eren’s arm and shoving him towards
the door. “Don’t stay up too late,” he threw over his shoulder at Hanji. Hanji
just smiled and waved.
The staircase wound down around the outside of the tower. Eren had his hand on
the outside wall, walking down the broadest part of the steps. He could feel
Levi’s eyes on him, watching him. “Sorry about this,” Eren mumbled.
“About what?” Levi said, stifling a yawn. “Oh, the nerd?” He waved it away. “I
expected it. She always has to know your deepest motivations for becoming a
Titan,” he said sourly.
“Do you think what I did today was a success?”
Levi paused on the steps. “Why are you asking?”
Because I want your approval. The chains being removed will be wonderful, but
more than that I want to have you look at me with favor. “No reason.”
“Well…” Levi said, his brow creasing. “Aside from nearly killing me, I’d say it
was a large step in the right direction.”
“S-sorry about that.”
“If you can’t take any fucking jokes, I’ll stop making them, Jaeger.” He’s so
short-tempered tonight. “I noticed that you didn’t explain to Hanji exactly
what got you back in control of the Titan.”
“No.” Before Eren had gotten control of the Titan, it was a red fog of agony,
blood, desire. He felt the desire to eat and eat, to crush bones between his
jaws and gnash his teeth terribly. He seemed to go on forever, and his yearning
to consume was endless.
“So what was it?”
Eren frowned. There had been a clarion call, something that dissipated the red
fog and he’d seized control, digging his heels into the Titan. “It was your
voice, Captain.”  Eren turned to face him but couldn’t bring himself to look
directly at Levi’s face. “W-when you said my name.”
Oh God, I’m blushing, I can feel how red I’m getting, please don’t look at
me—but Levi didn’t say anything. Eren exhaled a shuddery breath that couldn’t
draw out the sudden warmth that flooded all of his limbs, focusing on Levi’s
boots. “Captain, I need to ask you something…”
“Can’t it wait until morning, you fucking—“
“Are you seeing anyone?”
There, it’s out. God, it’s out and I can’t take it back now.Silence yawned
between them and then Levi set down the lamp on the stairs. The sound of metal
touching stone was like a rifle going off. Why doesn’t he say anything? Why is
he so quiet? Can I risk looking at him? It’s going to be bad, oh I knew it! I’m
such a fucking moron!
“Eren Jaeger, are you… propositioning a senior officer?” Levi’s voice was
deadly quiet.
Oh God, it’s so much worse than bad. “NO! No...Of course not. ”
Levi lifted one eyebrow and then leaned over to pick up the lamp.
Eren licked his lips and swallowed against the lump in his throat. “But, if I
had been…”
“What?” Levi snapped.
“…what would be your response?” Eren looked up, finally looking at Levi’s face.
Levi straightened, leaving the lamp on the floor, and stepped down until his
eyes were level with Eren’s. He was only inches away and Eren tried his best to
meet Levi’s eyes, to scrutinize him as he was being scrutinized, but Eren was,
honestly, bad at it. He kept running out of breath and having to look away from
Levi’s face.
“You’re uncomfortable.” Levi’s voice was hoarse.
Eren nodded.
“Why?”  Levi’s eyes appraised him, unashamedly looking over his face and Eren
blushed again.
“Because you keep looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” Levi’s cool gaze pinioned him and Eren felt as though he was going
to melt under the intensity. “Isn’t this what you asked for?”
When Eren turned his head away, Levi reached up and captured Eren’s chin with
his slender fingers. Eren closed his eyes as Levi forcefully turned his face
back.
“No, Eren. You don’t get to look away.” A chill ran through Eren’s body; he
felt if he was going to be touched, he’d explode, but Levi held him firmly,
looking into him, through him. “Look at me.” And when Eren kept his eyes
closed, Levi repeated himself. “Look at me, Eren. Now.”
Eren found that looking at Levi was simultaneously the most painful and
delicious sensation he could imagine. That direct gaze went against all common
decency; it stripped Eren bare and coolly assessed his contents. It made Eren
feel vulnerable and exposed and he couldn’t look away, but he couldn’t maintain
eye contact.
“Eren.” Levi’s eyes dropped to his mouth. “Ask me again.”
“Captain, are you—“ was all Eren could manage before Levi silenced him with a
chaste kiss; Levi’s lips were cool and dry. His eyes were lowered and his
breath stirred Eren’s hair. Levi’s fingers left his chin, sliding along his
jawline to his temple, then the shell of his ear, then the back of his skull,
leaving Eren’s skin tingling in their wake.
“Not Captain.”
“Levi—“ Eren began, his voice suddenly lost under the slant of Levi’s mouth,
his lips opening like a wound to Levi’s tongue. Levi kissed him thoroughly,
catching at Eren’s lips with his own, his breathing harsh. His hands framed
Eren’s head, tilting and pulling him into the bruising, hungry kisses. Just
when Eren thought he might have had enough, Levi kissed him again, seeming to
have found the idea of stopping too much to bear.
“We need to get downstairs,” Levi murmured against his lips.
Eren couldn’t agree more.
Chapter End Notes
     I know it took a long time to get here, but I hope it was worth the
     wait!
     As a side note, would tracking a tag on tumblr for this fic be
     helpful to anyone? Should I track a tag?
***** Chapter 9 *****
Chapter Summary
     Levi and Eren find the terms of a relationship agreeable.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
I must be out of my mind.  Levi’s hand tightened around the lamp’s brass
handle.
He’s too young. He’s probably a virgin. He’s my subordinate. He’s a fucking
Titan and tried to kill me. There are all kinds of reasons why this is a
singularly bad idea.
Levi opened the door to the dungeon and started down the steps. He distantly
registered the click of the latch as it closed.
And yet… I didn’t imagine the way he blushed when he looked at me, not even
just tonight. I didn’t imagine the way he propositioned me. I didn’t imagine
the way he trusts me to lock him up every night. I certainly didn’t imagine
that kiss. I didn’t imagine… he could ever want anything else from me, other
than his life. Levi couldn’t help a small snort of frustration. Greedy, isn’t
he?
Eren was quiet, trailing along behind him as they descended down into the
dungeon. Levi paused at the junction. To the left, Eren’s cell. To the right,
his bedroom.
“Not that way, Eren,” he heard himself saying, as Eren turned to walk towards
his cell. “We… need to talk.”
Eren followed Levi into his bedroom, looking around as one might look for a
wild animal. Levi set the lamp down and then lit the larger oil lamp on his
desk.
“I’ll begin by saying that this is… highly unorthodox for me, Eren.” Unorthodox
was an understatement. Forming lasting relationships in the Survey Corps was
just asking for a life of perpetual heartbreak. “Go ahead and sit down.”
Levi sat down in his desk chair heavily; Eren perched on the edge of the bed,
looking around uneasily. Might as well get this started. The sooner the
difficult questions have been asked and answered, the sooner I know how bad of
an idea this is.
“Eren, I have some questions for you before we… well,” Levi said, trailing off.
“Before we have sex?”
Levi tried to ignore the way his skin prickled at the suggestion. “Before we
enter into a relationship of any kind, sexual or not,” Levi retorted. Eren
looked at him and Levi noted the attractive blush in his cheeks. Bold, but
innocent. Well, enthusiasm could make up for a lot of shortcomings.
“First things first. Are you a virgin?” Levi absentmindedly unbuckled his chest
harness and then unclipped it from his belt, loosening his cravat and crossing
his legs.
“Yes.” Eren replied, a little quickly. “Is that a problem?”
“Not on its own, but…” Levi sighed. “I’m much older than you and I’m reluctant
to take on—“
“I’m not a charity case.”
Levi lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t recall saying you were. But you will require
some training and that takes time and effort.”
“Levi, I’m not…” Eren hesitated and Levi regarded him coolly. He has to show
that he’s willing to make some kind of investment in this, he thought, and it
surprised him, the way he wanted there to be an investment in them. In me.
“Let me ask you this, Eren.” Levi uncrossed his legs and leaned forward,
resting his forearms on his knees. “What do you want from me?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what do you want to do? Where do you want this to go? Do you want a
lasting relationship? Or should we just fuck tonight and then go on about our
lives?” Levi wasn’t really into casual encounters, but they had happened
before. It was one of the… things that came along with being Humanity’s
Strongest Soldier. Levi hesitated to call it a perk, because it was usually an
annoyance.
What Levi wasn’t sure about was whether he wanted to just fuck Eren once. Well,
that will depend on how good he is, and virgins are never amazing. Although,in
some ways, the fact that Eren was a virgin was even more attractive than having
an experienced partner. He wouldn’t have any bizarre habits from previous
lovers, and any insecurity he felt about pleasure could be easily expunged with
some careful lovemaking. In truth, Levi wanted to spend hours teaching Eren how
to please him.
“I… hadn’t really thought that far ahead.”
Fuck.
“So you thought you’d just start something you had no idea how to finish, huh?”
Levi couldn’t really hide the irritation in his voice.  
“I’m completely new at this, okay??” There’s that attractive blush again.
Wait a second. Completely new at this?
“Eren, are you telling me that was your first kiss?”
At Eren’s sheepish nod, Levi covered his face in his hands. What the fuck have
I stumbled into?
“Okay, Eren. If this is going to work—for any kind of relationship at all—we
need some ground rules.”
Eren nodded solemnly. “What are they?”
“First, you must continue to address me as your superior officer when we are
not in private. This means that you obey my orders without questioning me and
you show me the kind of deference you would show Commander Smith.”
Eren nodded again.
“Secondly, you must tell me the moment I do anything that makes you
uncomfortable.” Levi stood and walked the few feet to the bed, sitting down
next to Eren.  “Are you okay with that?”
“Yes.”
Levi leaned in to kiss Eren’s temple, pressing his nose into Eren’s hair. “If
we need any other rules, we’ll make them up as we go along.”
“As we go along?” Eren pulled away a bit and smiled. “Does that mean just one
night isn’t enough?”
Levi smirked, pulling Eren in for a kiss. “Don’t flatter yourself, brat.”
Their embrace was lazy, ill-practiced, and Eren had all the restraint and
coordination of an enthusiastic puppy. But he took direction well and smiled at
Levi’s delight, murmured into the skin of his neck, the shell of his ear, the
flash of his pulse in his throat. Levi nibbled at his neck, pulling aside the
collar of his shirt to bite and kiss down his shoulder, smiling broadly at the
small shiver and cry Eren gave.
“This harness has to go,” he mumbled between kisses, fiddling with the buckle
on Eren’s chest and then the buckle on his belt and then finally Levi swore and
stood up, tugging at the straps in frustration. Eren kicked off his boots
hurriedly, leaving them in a pile on the floor, and stripped his harness in
record time. The leather culet and then Eren’s shirt dropped to the floor and
Levi felt heat pool in the pit of his stomach. He fumbled with the buttons of
his own shirt, having barely gotten his boots and harness off. It had been so
long since he’d had to undress on any kind of clock, under anyone else’s watch.
“Here,” Eren said, moving closer, reaching out to help with the buttons. Levi
switched to his pants, shrugging off the shirt as Eren pulled his shirt open
and slid his hands around Levi’s waist. Levi froze; the first touch was like an
electric shock, and goose bumps rose all over Levi’s body.  Eren smiled against
Levi’s lips and lightened his touch, a small chuckle pouring from his mouth at
Levi’s shudder.
“You’re sensitive,” Eren whispered.
“Can’t be helped, “ Levi muttered. “It’s been… a long time.” God, it has been…
years since anyone has touched me like this.
“I’ll try not to disappoint you,” Eren hummed into Levi’s ear.
Levi slid his hand down to fondle Eren’s crotch. He’s already so hard.“It…
doesn’t seem like that will be an issue,” Levi replied.  “Take these off.”  He
could barely get his own pants off fast enough.
Eren fell back on the bed, pulling off his pants and underwear in one shove,
his erection slapping against his stomach as it sprang free. He kicked them off
the side of the bed and Levi fell upon him, kissing across his shoulders and
chest, relishing the way Eren’s arms fell around him and his hands curled
against his back.
Levi’s fingers danced down Eren’s torso, closing around Eren’s cock and giving
an experimental tug. A grin softened Levi’s face as Eren gasped and arched up
into his hand. “Eren, show me what you like,” he whispered.
Their hands touched as Eren reached down to his dick, but Levi withdrew his
hand, letting Eren take the lead in demonstrating what he found pleasurable.
Levi was not idle, by any means, sucking Eren’s nipples and stroking his hips,
watching the way he worked himself over. When Levi covered Eren’s hand with his
own, he couldn’t suppress a moan of delight at the way Eren whimpered and
pushed his hips up into Levi’s touch. The head of his cock already glistened
with precome.
He’s getting close faster than I’d thought. Virgins.  Levi watched Eren sigh
into the fold of his arm. But he’s beautiful when he does that.
Eren’s hand fell away and he gathered the sheets into his fist as Levi
tightened his grip around Eren’s dick. “Levi…”  And when he does that.
He draped one arm over his eyes, his hips thrusting up into Levi’s hand. “Levi,
that’s… oh my God—”
And that.
“I’m…. I can’t… last long when you’re doing that.” Every word was punctuated
with a pant or gasp for breath.
Levi slid down the bed, pulling Eren’s legs apart and crouching between them,
supporting himself on one hand. Moistening his lips, Levi fit his mouth over
the purpling head and bobbed down, swirling his tongue around the ridge of
Eren’s glans and pulling down on his shaft. Eren’s hips jerked irregularly,
once, twice and then his head pressed back into the pillow, his hand clenching
on the mattress. Levi swallowed Eren’s come, making a face at the bitter taste.
Better that than make a mess in the sheets.
Levi crawled up next to his lover, kissing the forearm draped over his face.
Eren was still, his chest still rising and falling fast. “Levi….what about
you?”
“Don’t worry about me. Sleep.”
Eren uncovered his eyes, turning them on Levi. “But you—“
“Don’t fucking argue with me.” Levi dropped a kiss on Eren’s cheek. Call it a
gift.
Eren searched Levi’s face before his eyelids grew too heavy. He was asleep
within minutes. Levi kept vigil for him late into the night, his pale skin
licked by lamplight, watching the restful face of a Titan shifter slumbering in
his bed. Levi smiled in spite of himself.
What on Earth have I done?
Chapter End Notes
     As a side note, since I could not find any information on the correct
     terminology for the brown wrap/skirt that is worn around the hips, I
     looked at how the wrap functions in the uniform. Since the function
     of the wrap appears to be to protect a soldier from potential 3D
     Maneuver Gear malfunctions (cable burn, etc.) and wear and tear, I
     have used the word "culet" here. (The purpose of a culet was to
     protect the hips and waist from blows from an adversary. A simple
     leather culet would fulfill the function of protecting the user from
     the 3DMG.)
***** Chapter 10 *****
Chapter Summary
     Levi and Eren have their first "morning after" and Erwin and Levi
     discuss the expedition beyond the walls.
Chapter Notes
     I've started tracking a tag on tumblr: please use the tag #fic:
     fumarole to discuss this fic. Also, don't be afraid to come in my ask
     box if you'd like to chat :D
     tumblr: tigerine.tumblr.com
     tracked tag: #fic: fumarole, #tigerine
Eren sat bolt upright in bed, still half-asleep.  The split second of
disorientation and confusion resolved itself into answers. Where am I? In bed,
but not my bed. No, I slept with the Captain last night. I stayed in his bed?
He didn’t move me to my cell? Looks like it.
And Eren sagged back down into the comfortable bed, pulling the covers back
over him. Levi had managed to claim the majority of the single pillow during
the night, and he lifted his head as Eren laid back down.
“Are you awake already?” Levi somehow managed to sound both irritated and
disappointed at the same time.
“Hnn…” I am definitely not.
“Good.”
Eren felt Levi slide closer, pulling Eren into him by the waist, and then
Levi’s lips on his shoulder, pressing a kiss against his skin.
The next time Eren woke, Levi was already up, with the lamps lit.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.”
“Did you sleep well?”
“Mostly.” Eren sat up in bed, rubbing his face.
“Good.” Levi began brushing his teeth at the nightstand and Eren slid out of
bed, looking through the pile of discarded clothes they’d left by the bed and
picking his shirt and pants out. 
“So, I guess I should start calling you Captain again,” Eren said as he watched
Levi move around the room. What a strange place and way to say that.
“Yes. You should.” Levi bent over the nightstand, brushing his teeth, still
naked, and Eren found himself really enjoying watching Levi move. He hadn’t
really noticed—no, appreciated—how incredibly toned Levi was, probably because
the uniform hid most of it. I didn’t get to spend much time looking at him last
night.
Levi had the same kind of wear patterns that all the soldiers did, but they
were much more pronounced than any Eren had seen in the Trainee barracks. His
pale skin was crossed with dark red marks in the pattern of the maneuver gear
harness, the skin hairless and shiny, like a scar. He had other scars as well,
white even against his skin, and the fact that Eren could see them from several
feet away made him frown.
“Something wrong?” Levi said, putting down his toothbrush. “Don’t like the
view?”
“You have a lot of scars.”
Levi looked down at his body briefly and then nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“Are they all from… being in the Corps?” Eren didn’t really want to bring up
the time Levi had spent in the criminal underworld, but at the same time, it
looked like the underworld had taken its pound of flesh.
“Ah, Petra told you about my seedy past, did she?”
Eren blinked and then looked at the ground. It’s like he can read minds
sometimes. “Yeah, she did.”
“I suppose it only adds to my mysterious feel,” Levi said matter-of-factly,
washing his hands. “Chicks dig scars.”
Eren found himself blushing. Well of course chicks would dig scars. Of course
he’s been with women and probably other men too. Of course they’ve seen him
like this. You’re nothing special.
Levi dried his hands and spread the towel out to dry and then turned to look at
Eren. “Most of them are from the Corps.  Some of them are not.” He walked over
to his jacket, slung around the chair in front of his desk, and fished around
in the pocket.
“Here,” he said, tossing Eren the keys to his cell. “Go get cleaned up.
Breakfast in twenty minutes. And I want those back,” he said.
“Yes, sir!”
***
Erwin Smith’s voice responded nearly instantly to Levi’s knock. “Come.”
Levi opened the door and entered, shutting it behind him. The commander was
seated behind his desk, lit from behind by the morning sun through the large
windows in his office.
 “Levi, good to see you.” Erwin moved aside his requisitions forms, looking
down at the large scale schematic of the long-range formation.
“Erwin,” Levi acknowledged. “Must be nice getting all this sunlight.”
“Ah, sorry about that.” Erwin looked mildly apologetic. “I know the basement is
a hard thing to ask of you, but the brass insisted that you be close to him.”
“It’s not all bad.”
Erwin lifted an eyebrow but Levi didn’t elaborate further. He knows me well
enough to guess what that might mean, but I don’t need to confirm it for him
just yet.
“I assume you’re here to look at the plans with me.”
“Yeah. The new recruits should be arriving today, so I figured you’d want to
discuss them.“ Levi walked over behind Erwin’s desk, leaning over and looking
at the plans. Erwin’s copy contained small, neatly-written notes near every
group. Levi smiled inwardly at the handwriting. He’s still using that old
cipher. “Are you still going to go forward with that plan?”
Erwin looked down at the battle plans. “Yes.” He folded his hands together,
lacing his fingers. “I know you don’t agree with it—”
“Fucking right I don’t agree with it.” Levi hopped up on the desk facing Erwin,
leaning over and grabbing a pen. Using it as a stylus, he drew sweeping troop
movements over the plans.  “Putting all the new recruits on the right flank is
tantamount to murder, Erwin.”
Erwin chuckled darkly. “Why not tell me how you really feel about it, Levi?” At
Levi’s black look, he gestured at the battle plans. “Seriously, I want to hear
your thoughts.”
“Not only will they face the greatest exposure in Titan territory, they won’t
be expecting an attack from within.”
“No, they won’t.” Erwin leaned back in his chair, tucking his hands behind his
head, his eyes intent on Levi.
“Whoever the traitors are, they’re going to have to cut their way through our
troops to get to Eren.”  Levi scowled. “It almost looks like you’re trying to
get everyone killed, putting Eren here and the new recruits on the right
flank,” he muttered, dropping the pen on the desk. It rolled to a stop between
Erwin’s hands.
“‘Never was anything great achieved without danger,’” Erwin quoted.
“Not to mention the actual danger to Eren himself,” Levi continued.
“Oh? Hanji was telling me that his second transformation was largely a
success.”
“He shouldn’t use his Titan power unless his life is in danger,” Levi said. “He
nearly bit me in half.” It was tough for Levi to admit, but Eren’s Titan powers
were still too unpredictable to be of any use to them in a military mission.
“Really.” Erwin glanced at a stack of handwritten notes on the corner of his
desk; Levi recognized the spidery script of his squad leader.  So he hasn’t
read Hanji’s actual report yet.Sometimes the Commander wasn’t good at hiding
his tells in private company.
“Yeah, I’m not a huge fan of being in a Titan’s mouth.”  Levi hopped off the
desk. “Too many teeth.”
Erwin sighed. “That’s a pity. I’d hoped to be able to use him if things became
difficult.” Erwin sat forward in his chair again, resting his elbows on his
desk. His flinty eyes seemed to be gazing off into space. Erwin always gets
that far-off look when he’s planning out men’s lives.
“It’s logical to assume that one or more of the new recruits is aware of Eren’s
identity. They’re probably also responsible for the deaths of the Titan
specimens.  If this draws them out like I hope it will, keeping them confined
in one area means we know where the attack will come from.” Erwin swept out the
space between his lip and gums with his tongue. Levi knew that tell as well: he
was digging his heels in. God, he has so many tells it’s embarrassing.
“That’s the difference between you and me, Erwin.” Levi walked to the other
side of the desk. “I can’t just throw the lives of my men away.”
“You say that like I don’t care about the lives lost. You know I do.”
“I know.”  Levi leaned on the desk, looking at the schematic. “It just seems so
wasteful.”
“With any luck, it won’t be.”
Levi straightened, stepping away from the desk. “If that’s all…?” Because
there’s really nothing more I can say that you’ll hear, Erwin. You have a great
instinct, both for strategy and for battle, and nothing I offer now is going to
make any change in your plans.
“Yes,” Erwin said. “Thank you, Levi.”
Levi flashed a salute, which really came out more as pressing his fist to his
heart. He was halfway out the door when Erwin called out to him.
“Oh, Levi?”
“Yes?”
“How are you doing training Jaeger, Titan powers aside?”
“I’m taking him out on patrol later on today, to show him how we’ll be riding
in formation.”
“Good. He’ll need to know how to ride hard.” Levi met Erwin’s steely gaze, his
face a mask of indifference.
Shit, Erwin always could tell when I’d found someone. I didn’t think I was
being quite that obvious, but maybe I’m slipping up in my old age.
“Yes, sir.” Erwin reached for his stack of requisition papers with one last
knowing look at Levi before the door clicked shut.
***** Chapter 11 *****
Chapter Summary
     A brief excursion on horseback before the trip to recruit from the
     Trainee Corps has Levi deep in thought.
Chapter Notes
     my tumblr: tigerine.tumblr.com
     tracked tag: #fic: fumarole, #tigerine
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Levi enjoyed horseback riding. He’d taken to it naturally, even before he’d
joined the Survey Corps. The trust he had in this horse rivaled his trust he
placed in his squad members. He had good instincts when it came to avoiding
Titans, and he responded to the slightest pressure from Levi’s knees. They had
a rapport, an understanding born from many hours together.  He couldn’t say the
same for Eren’s horse, which was still getting used to him.
The klicks fell away under the hooves of their horses in the late morning sun. 
Today was about pacing, recognizing your horse’s limits and making the best
possible decisions to maximize their galloping time. Outside the walls, you had
no way of knowing how long you would need to run. When you needed your horse to
run, it had to run fast.  Balancing those two demands could save your life.
Tomorrow, they would be riding hard through a forest to the north, where Eren
and the squad could switch to maneuver gear to keep their skills sharp. A few
days without using the gear and the body began to forget the feeling of
weightlessness, to learn again the fear of flying through the air. This was
unacceptable. Levi’s team needed to be not only sharp, but in tune with each
other’s abilities. Working together in field maneuvers built teamwork, improved
coordination and established trust.
Trust. There is still a lot to be done on that front.
A stone fence rose in front of them and they sailed over it, spalling sod as
they landed.  Levi’s horse regained its gait easily, but Eren’s horse hesitated
for a moment.  The meadow in front of them was open and flat, and Levi flexed
his ankles and stood in the stirrups, urging the horse into a gallop, his
thoughts wandering in spite of himself. He was distantly aware of Eren’s click
of the reins behind him, wind and hoofbeats and his thoughts filling his head.
Hanji didn’t trust Eren as far as she could throw him. She was fantastically
curious about him, but pragmatic: Eren’s Titan form was only slightly more
communicative than a wild animal and infinitely more dangerous. Erd, Auruo and
Gunther were still highly suspicious of Eren, much as they hated to admit it.
It was difficult to change several years of habits learned at death’s knee.
Petra. She trusted Eren, but only as long as Levi did; it was Levi she trusted,
not Eren. Mike trusted him, irrespective of Levi’s input. He said that Eren
smelled like blood and rage, that it was an honest smell for a Corps member.
Mike later confided to Levi that Eren’s smell was not only blood and rage:
there was, when one knew what to look for, the stink of a Titan.
Levi couldn’t recall having smelled any Titan on Eren at all, and he’d been in
pretty close quarters extremely recently. He slowed the horse to a trot; if he
wasn’t careful, he’d end up lathering him and there was still quite a lot of
riding yet to do today.
Eren Jaeger.  He’s headstrong, but there are worse qualities in a soldier. Any
arrogance he might have about his Titan abilities is absolutely dwarfed by his
desire to prove himself to his team. It is a childish viewpoint in many ways,
and childhood stops when you enter the Corps, if not sooner.
And if he was a child before last night, he certainly isn’t one now. How do I
even feel about that? This is why I don’t get involved with virgins.
No one batted an eye at the frequent sexual encounters that were had in the
Trainee Barracks; there were nothing but teenagers present and the high stress
and occasional deaths tended to throw people together. However, long-term
romantic relationships were, if not discouraged, then met with cool judgment.
If Eren chose not to sleep around in the barracks (or even kiss anyone, for
pity’s sake), had he been romantically involved with someone in the Trainee
Corps? The thought was distasteful to Levi.
I’m already… kind of attached to him.
Levi absentmindedly tugged on the reins, turning his horse to look at Eren, who
was bringing up the rear. “We should head back. We’ll need to be leaving for
the Trainee compound soon.”
“We’re going to that?”
“Yes. Commander Smith is going, and we will be there to support him, along with
the rest of the squad,” Levi said, nudging his horse into a walk. “Besides, I
think you will have more of a role than you expect.”
“But I’ve already chosen the Survey Corps.”
***
“Jaeger?”
“Yes, sir!” The answer came from inside the barracks.
“Hurry it up. We don’t have all day.”
Eren came out in a stooped position, dragging his trunk. He was dressed in
uniform again, although his clothes seemed looser on him than they were when
he’d been taken into custody. Sitting in a cell would sap anyone’s strength, I
suppose.
He dropped the trunk and turned, snapping his left hand behind his back and his
right fist against his chest in a salute. “Captain Levi, sir.”
Levi heard Hanji stifle a giggle. “Erd, Gunther, would you mind? We have a
small piece of business to attend to.”
Erd and Gunther carried off the wooden trunk, leaving Eren standing in his
salute.
“Would you like the honor, Levi?”
Levi turned to look at Hanji, who was not a little bit happy about welcoming
Eren into the Corps; her face was flushed and she hadn’t had anything less than
a smile on all morning. Her face had been a full-on grin for the last hour. 
She offered him the package in her hand.
“I suppose I should. Brat’s only going to get this once.”
Levi took the parcel and stepped forward in front of Eren. Eren’s eyes, which
were usually directed to the front, unwavering, as any good salute should be,
drifted down to the Captain’s hands. Levi opened the wrapped package slowly,
revealing the deep green of a Survey Corps cloak, and the stitched royal-and-
white emblem of the “wings of freedom”, as he’d heard Eren breathlessly intone
before he collapsed in Trost. “Welcome to the Corps, Eren.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
“Don’t just stand there. Put it on,” Levi said, only mildly irritated. The kid
was so enthusiastic.
It was a ceremony unlike any other Levi had ever been to or participated in;
new recruits always received all their cloaks at once, and they shrugged into
the trappings of their new lives together, when they still believed that they
might all survive the Titans’ dreadful hunger. When they thought that they
would be the graduating class that would make it to old age together.
But Eren’s cloak swept around his shoulders alone; there were no witnesses save
for Levi and Hanji.
***
“You were assigned to the Survey Corps because you needed to be looked after,”
Levi responded, snapping out of his recollection. “Having a Titan running loose
inside the Walls is untenable.”
Eren fell quiet, his face plainly showing that Levi had unsettled him. Sorry,
brat. If it were up to me, you wouldn’t be on such a short leash, but I can’t
speak for humanity on this one.  Plus,Levi added mentally, it’s not like you’re
not in danger all the time.
“We’ll need to train you and your horse together for the expedition,” Levi
said.  “Get you used to each other.”
“I haven’t even decided on a name for him.”
“A name for him?”
Eren looked at Levi quizzically. “Yeah. What’s your horse’s name?”
Levi blinked. Naming horses wasn’t really something he spent a lot of time
thinking about. “When I got him, he was the only black horse in the squad. He’s
the Black.”
“The black one?” 
"Just the Black."
Eren’s laugh was easy, carefree. “Do you really not have any imagination at
all, Captain?”  
Levi couldn’t completely keep a smirk off his face. “No, I don’t. Naming horses
that are likely to be lost or killed isn’t a valuable use of my time.”  He
kicked his horse forward into a trot. “Let’s get back to headquarters. We’ll
discuss the naming conventions of livestock later.”
 
Chapter End Notes
     Yes, I completely ripped off the Black Stallion and Levi's horse is
     named "the Black". Yes, I was one of those girls who watched nothing
     but horse movies when I was younger.
***** Chapter 12 *****
Chapter Summary
     A visit to the Trainee Camp piques Eren's curiosity about Levi's role
     and their chances of survival.
Chapter Notes
     Tracked tags: #tourmalineundine, #fic: fumarole
     my tumblr: tourmalineundine.tumblr.com
     Sorry this took so long; a little bit of tumult in my personal life
     made things difficult for a while. We'll also be moving into the
     month between Trost and the Expedition, so there will be more
     original content.
The ride to the Trainee Corps compound took the rest of the day. Even as they
rode, Eren found himself surrounded by the members of Levi’s—no, his—squad. 
Erwin led the group, his gray destrier setting an easy pace; the rest of the
horses responded to the natural leadership of Erwin’s stallion, cleaving to him
as they wound across farmland in the afternoon sun.
I wonder why they needed me to come along on this. Aren’t we supposed to be
keeping my visibility low?
Levi had simply blinked once when he asked and said, “It’s up to Erwin, not me
or you. We’ll go where we’re ordered to.”
So here he was, riding back to the barracks he’d called home for three years.
He felt apprehensive, but also excited. Maybe I’ll get to see Mikasa and Armin
tonight. The thought made him really happy.
Erwin and Levi left their horses for Ness to take care of and walked into the
administrative building. Levi paused at the door to turn and look back at Eren,
almost like wanted to say something, but then he appeared to think better of it
and disappeared indoors.
“Eren, glad to see you’re doing well,” Ness said, leading Erwin’s horse into
the stables and Levi’s into one opposite it.
“Y-yeah,” Eren said in reply. The rest of the squad filed in with them, their
faces serious. Hanji had a large tube that she had ridden with, tucked under
one arm like a rifle.  Each of them shucked the tack from their horses with
practiced ease, the scent of sweat-damp blankets and sweet hay mingling in the
stables.
The drill field was just beyond the courtyard of the stables; Erd and Gunther
waited behind for Eren and walked with him to the back of the stage.  Erwin
Smith was already there, standing at parade rest, staring at the torches. He
turned as Eren and the rest of the squad approached.
“Eren Jaeger, good to see you again.”
Eren snapped into a salute. “Commander, sir!”
Erwin’s face softened into a small smile. “At ease, Jaeger.”
“Yes sir!”
Erwin looked at Erd and Gunther, some unknown communication passing between
them. Erwin nodded almost imperceptibly, and then moved up into the wings of
the stage, speaking with Mike and Hanji.  The potential recruits were gathering
in front of the stage in the dusk, and Eren realized suddenly that Levi was
nowhere to be found.
“Erd, have you seen the Captain?”
Erd’s face changed; he stiffened slightly and rolled his shoulders non-
committally. “He has other business to take care of.”
Other business to take care of? Didn’t we need to be here to support the
Commander? Eren began to push his hood back, but Gunther touched his elbow and
shook his head. Eren’s hand fell back to his side; there was nothing to be
done. Gunther’s face didn’t exactly invite further questioning, and all the
other faces around him wore the same serious expression, grimly painted with
firelight and shadow.
***
I don’t want him in here! 
Levi didn’t really blame Shadis for not wanting a Titan shifter in the same
building with the visiting brass. Erwin deferred to him as a guest, but he’d
given Levi a cool look as Levi led Eren to one of the unused barracks.
Levi was shucking his jacket before Eren had even closed the door.
“I didn’t see you during Erwin’s presentation,” Eren said, easing his own
jacket off.
“You weren’t supposed to see me.” The rooftops of the nearby buildings and his
dark cloak had kept him hidden from potential observers but ready to respond if
a threat to Eren’s life presented itself. I didn’t really think that anyone
would make an attempt on his life here. Too much at risk. Levi turned to face
Eren, his fingers pulling at his cravat.
Eren was perched on the edge of one of the double bunk beds. His eyes darted to
the stack of linens they’d been given and Levi’s eyes followed his, one eyebrow
lifted.
“Top or bottom bunk?”
“Hmm?” Eren looked like he’d been deep in thought. “Oh. “ He shrugged. “Doesn’t
matter much to me. I could sleep anyplace I fell.”
Levi nodded slowly, ignoring the invitation hidden in Eren’s words. He chucked
one of the pillows at Eren, and the linens after that, and continued
undressing.  Eren watched him for a moment and then turned, tucking his head
under one of the bunks and beginning to push the sheets under the mattress. 
“During training, which one did you choose?” Levi was not actually curious, but
the conversation forestalled the discussion of how many beds to make.  
“Top,” Eren replied.
But he chose the bottom bunk tonight.
Erwin’s cool look stuck with Levi, the silent caution they’d used to
communicate so many times before. That look was something that usually brooked
no argument, but Levi actually found him questioning Erwin’s judgment.  It
would have been better if he’d actually been able to ask what Erwin was trying
to caution him about , but Erwin had stayed to talk with Shadis in private, and
Eren was pretty much dead on his feet from all the riding they’d done that day.
This really only leaves one choice for me: do I make my bed next to his or not?
I wouldn’t mind sharing a bed with him, but I can’t help feeling kind of
exposed like this…
Hanging his jacket on one of the bedposts and his harness on top of his jacket,
Levi picked up his stack of bed linens and padded around to the bunk next to
Eren’s, stacking the sheets on the top bunk. Eren had finished spreading out
his blanket and began to unbuckle his harness.  
The safe choice would be the top bunk.
Levi purposely did not watch Eren undressing, focusing on making the bed,
jerking the sheets taut and making knife-sharp hospital corners. He slid
between the cool linen sheets in his underwear before Eren was finished getting
ready for bed, and pulled the blanket over him in spite of the warm night, his
back to Eren.  The light of the lamp vanished on the walls and when he felt
Eren’s weight rock the bed, he closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn’t shift over
further.
“Levi?”
“Hmm?”
“Are the numbers the Commander said in his speech real?”
“Which numbers are those?”
“The… death rate. Of the Survey Corps.”
Levi turned over in bed, finding Eren laying on his back, similarly undressed,
his hands tucked behind his head.  Even in the dim light afforded by the
barracks windows, Levi could see the way Eren’s pectoral muscles tucked into
his biceps and the taut lines of his serratus curving around the side of his
torso.
Everyone in the Corps had what could be generously called a ‘wiry’ look:
despite the extra rations that came with being in the military, everyone seemed
only a week away from starvation. Women in the Corps received an extra ration
to keep their body fat stores slightly higher, but it was nearly useless; fuel
was spent the moment it was taken in.
Eren had not yet acquired that near-starvation look and Levi’s fingers itched
to trace the ridges of his muscles down his side, down to his iliac crest and
wrap his hands greedily around—
“Levi?”
“The numbers are correct.” Levi turned back over in bed. Too much longer
looking at him like that and I’ll have problems sleeping.
“Are we all going to die?”
“No.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I’m not. I’m telling you what you want to hear.”
After a moment of silent stillness, Levi felt Eren lean over and tuck his arm
around Levi’s waist, pulling him against him and Eren’s warm lips pressed
against his shoulder, planting kisses against his skin.
Levi’s skin tingled, electrified by the intimacy, the closeness, the warmth of
his lover. But he turned over, breaking the embrace and captured Eren’s chin
between his thumb and forefinger. “Not tonight, Eren.”
God, he’s actually pouting.
“When I say ‘not tonight’, I don’t mean not ever,” He pulled Eren in for a
rough kiss. “I mean ‘not tonight’, because we’re in a drafty barracks away from
home where scores of horny teenagers have fumbled through their first
unsatisfactory sexual experiences and premature ejaculations.” 
Levi pulled away and dropped his head back on his own pillow. “So go the fuck
to sleep. We ride back at first light.”
***** Chapter 13 *****
Chapter Summary
     Levi and Eren prepare to head back to HQ.
Chapter Notes
     my tumblr: tigerine.tumblr.com
     tracked tags: #tigerine, #fic: fumarole
     I know this has been a long time in coming. The whole point of
     shorter chapters was so that I could knock one out in a day or two
     and you guys wouldn't have to wait so long. But then Dramatical
     Murder happened. And other visual novels. And manga. And other fics.
     And real life crap. In short, there's no excuse for it taking this
     long, but I'll try to be more prompt in the future. Thanks for
     sticking with me.
The temperature dipped low in the night; the next morning was cool and foggy.
Eren’s eyes snapped open before dawn and he turned to his side to find Levi
with his arms tucked behind his head, staring at the underside of the bunk. At
Eren’s movement, he turned his head to look at him.
“Morning,” Eren mumbled drowsily, rubbing his eyes.
“Mm,” Levi replied, his voice thick with sleep.
Eren slid over next to Levi. Levi gave a soft grunt of protest as Eren’s hand
slid around his waist, but Eren was content simply to hold him and didn’t press
the issue. After a few moments, Levi untucked his right arm and let it fall,
draping loosely around Eren’s shoulders. Eren wriggled closer, pillowing his
head in the crook between Levi’s arm and his chest.
Eren was beginning to drift off again, lulled by the warmth and Levi’s even
breathing when Levi suddenly sat up, letting Eren’s head fall to the thin
mattress with a clunk.
“Ow!”
“We need to get moving,” Levi said, ignoring Eren’s yelp. “Daylight’s burning.”
Eren rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head where he’d hit it on the bed,
fixing Levi with a hurt look. Levi stared back at him, unmoved. “We have a long
way to go, and still more to do when we get there.”
The tone of his voice brooked no opposition. Eren slid out of bed, leaning to
untuck the sheets from the bed and wrapping them up to take them to the
laundry. Levi stood at the washstand; where there might normally be ten people
swilling and spitting out night-breath, he stood alone, rubbing at his teeth
with a bone-handled toothbrush.
With the linens in a pile, Eren began to dress himself, tugging on his trousers
and harness, acutely aware of Levi’s presence as he moved about the room. The
silence was nearly oppressive, broken only by the soft sounds of rustling
fabric and the jingling of their harnesses. By the time Eren was done dressing,
Levi was standing in front of the steel mirror at the washstand, tying his
cravat. Eren stood, waiting for his inspection.
Levi turned in place, still tugging at his cravat, running his eyes over the
stripped bunks. After a moment, he nodded shortly. “Get everything squared
away. I’ll meet you at the stables.”
Eren nodded smartly, snapping himself to attention. “Yes, sir.”
Levi hesitated for just a moment, appraising Eren, before turning and walking
out of the barracks.
Eren finished cleaning up the barracks and left the linens in the large hamper
in the laundry; it would be for the Garrison-bound trainees to take care of
before they left. When he entered the stables, their horses were stirring in
their stalls, nosing out over the doors to see who had come into the building.
 Levi and Eren were the first to arrive, their footsteps loud in the quiet.
“Water them. They’ll have to saddle them on their own, but we can speed them
along that much.” Levi looked across the courtyard to see if any of the rest of
their group had stumbled out of the warmth and comfort of the administrative
building. Eren could see from his sour expression that they had not.
It was only after all the Survey Corps horses had been watered and Eren brushed
down his horse that Erd and Gunther arrived in the stables.
“You’re late.” Levi’s voice sounded more irritated than he looked.
Erd and Gunther looked at each other and then at Eren. Eren got the feeling
that somehow Erd and Gunther were not late, but that Levi was simply early.
“Sorry about that,” Erd said. Gunther smiled sheepishly.
“Did you enjoy your nice soft beds?”
Gunther opened his mouth to speak but Erd shot him a glare that could have
brought down a hawk. “They were adequate,” Erd replied at last.
“Good, because we’ll be riding hard today.”
The door to the stables opened again and Erwin stepped in, his green cloak
around his shoulders. “Morning, everyone.”
Erd, Gunther, and Eren all saluted, but Levi looked at Erwin with a curl in his
lip. “I bet you’ve already had a warm breakfast, Erwin. You have that kind of
well-fed look.”
Erwin’s face remained unreadable, but his lips twitched in a small smile. “On
the contrary, breakfast isn’t until seven.”
“Well, I hope you enjoy it,” Levi said. “We plan to be out of here before
that.”
Erwin’s smile melted away and he nodded.
Levi turned to look at Erd and Gunther. “Joining us in a breakfast of hard tack
and water?”
“Do we have a choice?” Erd said with an apologetic smile.
Levi’s face didn’t change. “No.”
Gunther broke out in a grin. “Guess we’ll eat when we get back, then.”
The door opened again, and Hanji, Mike, Petra and Auruo filed in. Petra carried
a rucksack and Auruo had a full waterskin slung over his back. Hanji was
talking in low tones to Mike, who had a serious expression.  Petra reached into
the bag and pulled out a few paper-wrapped parcels: hard tack, a dense, mostly
flavorless brick of unleavened bread, scored into meal portions. Hanji and Mike
talked with Erwin in low voices while Levi and his squad stood around gnawing
at the biscuits. Eren was pleased to find that this batch had been made with
rendered lard, leaving his lips slick with fat.
“Good morning, Eren!” Hanji said brightly, stepping over to see him. “No
problems during the night?”
“He turned into a Titan but you must have missed it over in the administration
building,” Levi snarked.
“Maybe I should be the one sleeping with him next time,” Hanji quipped.
Levi’s eyes flicked to Eren briefly and then back to Hanji. “Do whatever you
like,” he said.
It stung more than it should have, being dismissed in such a way. But this was
how it had to be. These were the terms of their arrangement, and Eren
understood that, at least for now, appearances had to be maintained.
“We’re leaving in ten minutes,” Levi said. “Get your horses saddled and meet in
the courtyard.” He dropped a handful of crumbs to the stable floor and then
walked over to talk to Erwin and Mike.
Petra and Auruo exchanged glances and then looked at Hanji.
“Beats me,” Hanji said with a shrug, looking to Erd and Gunther and then to
Eren.
Erd shook his head slowly. “Probably just pissed from having to sleep out in a
drafty old barracks,” he muttered.
Eren shifted from one foot to the other and then turned on his heel to finish
saddling his horse. At least he could do his best to satisfy Levi’s impatience
to leave by being ready to go.
                                      xXx
“Is it really necessary to do this right now?” Levi griped.
Erwin lifted an eyebrow. “We’ve been over this, Levi. “ He lifted his eyes to
Hanji, who was chatting with Levi’s squad as they finished breakfast and
saddled their horses. “Hanji thinks that the sooner we try this, the better.”
“We’ll have a month to practice maneuvers—“
“And four new squads to train them in. Seven formation groups. It all has to go
perfectly.” Mike’s tone was matter-of-fact. “We also have to give them a
geography lesson. They’re too young to remember what’s outside Rose.”
“Train their horses—“ Erwin said.
“Emergency protocols—“ Mike chimed back.
“Maybe we could even work in some Titan training with Eren—“
“Fine, fine.” Levi grumbled. “This should be easy enough to relay to them.”
Mike looked at him appraisingly, taking a deep breath and then blowing it out
his nose with a small smirk.
“I imagine Hanji has a copy of the plans?” Levi’s voice was back to being level
and measured. Once something was decided, it was best to let it go.
“She knows them, but we thought it best to keep physical copies limited,” Erwin
said with a knowing look at Mike.
Levi absorbed this information with a passive expression. He looked at Erwin
and, in that strange way of communicating they had, their posture and eye
contact spoke volumes.
It meant that the investigation by the Military Police into the deaths of the
Titan test subjects had turned up no leads. It meant that there was still a
threat to Eren from within the walls. And worse, that Erwin’s hare-brained
scheme to draw out the traitors with this abbreviated expedition in one month’s
time would go ahead as planned. The entire month he would have to be on the
lookout for daggers from the shadows.
It wasn’t easy being in the Survey Corps, knowing you or your team could die at
any time, even if it was for the glory of humanity or the greater good of
knowledge about the Titans. Within the walls was a time for reflection and
honing combat skills, not watching your back for treachery. Levi simmered with
barely contained anger. If he ever got his hands on who was responsible, they
would understand fully what it meant to wreak havoc on his routines.
“Your squad already knew the long-range detection formation, but they’ll have a
copy to explain to Eren. Unless you’d rather explain it to him yourself?”
Erwin’s question was innocent, but Levi fixed him with a cold stare.
“I trust my squad’s ability to explain things to him.” Levi turned and looked
over his shoulder at Eren, who was leading his horse out of the stall. “It’s
best if I limit contact with him.”
“Levi—“
“Don’t start, Erwin. We’re not going to have this discussion right now.”
“We will have to have it. Whether you like it or not.”
Levi turned back as Eren led his horse from the barn and leveled his flinty
gaze on the Commander. “I’m well aware of that. But now is not the time.”
Mike snorted softly, drawing Levi’s eyes away from Erwin.
“Levi—“ Erwin began again, but Levi turned his piercing gaze back on his
superior.
“I know what I’m doing, Erwin,” Levi said in a low voice. “Don’t interfere.”
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