Cold sweat trickled down your sunburnt face as you raised your hands up to your fighting stance. Your (h/c) hair stuck to your face and your body was starting to wear down, but you wouldn't give up. You had been sparring for the past hour with the titan-shifter himself, Eren. You haven't failed yet. One more take-down and you would finally be done for the day. Levi's dark eyes were on you, as well as the rest of the scout regiment. You were trying to prove your worth, prove that you were meant to be in with the rest of the elites. And so far you were doing well. But, you weren't sure if you could go at it again.

Eren readied himself, "You can do it, (first name)."

His voice was in a hushed whisper, so that only you could hear. You stare at him for a moment as you attempted to read his movements. But, like usual, you couldn't tell what he was thinking. What he was planning. And it was unnerving.

Your heart started to pound against your chest. This would be it. This is the final test to see if you were really worth their time. At times like these, you began to overthink things. But nothing was running through your brain. It was quiet, even in your mind.

Wind blew through your hair and everyone's whispers faded. It was about to start.

Eren lunged at you, and you dodged gracefully. But something was different this time. He seemed more aware of your were starting to become predictable.

His hand shot out and grabbed your white shirt in his fist. He pulled you towards him with so much force, you lost your footing and fell to the dirt. Pain shot up your back and you grunt. When you realize what had happened, your eyes widen. How could he have brought you down so fast?

"That didn't take long," you heard Hanji Zöe speak sadly, as if you disappointed her in some way. She barely knew you, how did she have the slightest clue what kind of a fighter you were?

"I've seen enough," Levi turned and began to walk away. Everyone slowly began to follow suit, until it was just you and Eren on the field.

"Shit," you slam your hands on the ground, "Seriously? You decide to go hard on me when it counted most?"

Eren smiled slightly, "Hey, don't worry about it. If Levi is smart, he'll let you join. Just give him some time."

He waved and walked away. And before you knew it, you were alone.

6:30 pm

You sat in the mess hall, staring blankly at your full plate of food. Even though it was your favorite, you couldn't bring yourself to eat. The events of the day went from bad to worse as you embarrassed yourself in front of the one person you wanted to impress.

You sigh. It wasn't your fault that Eren blind sighted you. If anything, it was Levi's fault for watching you without so much as a twitch. You were always nervous around men, but not as much as you were around Levi. Something about him made you particularly nervous. You just couldn't place what it was.

You stood, leaving your plate of food on the table. You weren't going to eat. There wasn't even a reason to try. Your stomach was in knots. Today was the worst.

You were almost to your room when you heard, "Hey, brat."

You turn and your breath catches in your throat as your (e/c) eyes meet with Levi's. He seemed to be staring right through you instead of at you. It was a little unnerving, being alone with him.

Instinctively, you salute. Why right now of all times? I just want to go to my room and sleep... I don't want to be lectured about my performance today.

"Y-yes, sir," you ask.

He crosses his arms, "Would you come with me?"

Your heart throbbed in fear of what he had planned. There was no one standing around you and him, nor did it look like anyone was going to be walking by any time soon. Why did he need to take you somewhere private? You sigh and nod slightly.

Levi turned away from you and began to walk away. You knew he wanted you to follow him, but you couldn't bring yourself to move. There couldn't be anything to be afraid of. He was a captain, and you were just a lowly cadet that was thrown to the ground within seconds of a fight beginning. Maybe he was going to scold you and tell you that you weren't cut out to even be in the military. Not even the military police would take you after that.

You shook your head and allowed your hands to fall to your sides, "Captain?"

He turned his cheek and stared at you from the corner of his right eye.

"May I ask you a question," you lick your lips.

He raised his eyebrows slightly, signaling that you could ask whatever you needed to ask. But he also looked somewhat impatient, as if he had places to go and as if he was on a timed schedule. Which, he probably was. Seeing as though he was the captain of the survey corps.

"Is this about my performance today," you ask quietly, "Because I don't know what happened at the end… I know it was the most important part of the test, but something distracted me."

"You know you can't be distracted like that when you're outside the walls," he states, ending the conversation before it could even start. He motioned for you to follow him again, and this time you obliged without saying a word.

He didn't answer your question. He barely even acknowledged it.

You stare at his back, smiling slightly to yourself. He was short, but in some way you knew that, even with being as short as he was, he was probably stronger than all of the people in the scout regiment put together. His muscles must be…

You shake the thought from your mind. Why would you be thinking of that at a time like this? Yes, he's attractive. But you shouldn't be feeling like this for such an elite guy. But, if you weren't going to get into the scout regiment, then why couldn't you date him? Even if you were his cadet, it would make it that much hotter.

Shit, you think, mentally hitting yourself. You couldn't think that! Why the hell was your brain wandering to that?!

Once you two were outside, you glanced up at the sky. There were colors varying from light purples to pinks and oranges. It was beautiful. The only thing that would make it better would be...

"Get on one," Levi commanded, mounting a horse.

Would be that...

You swing your leg over the black horse and look at Levi. Even his profile was perfect...

He glanced over at you, "Do you have any idea where we're going?"

You shake your head.

"Stupid girl," he mumbled and jabbed his heels into his horse's side.

Wait, what?

You stick your heels into the sides of your horse and attempted to catch up to him. No matter how hard you tried, it seemed he just kept getting farther and farther away. It felt like you were about to fall off your horse by how fast you were going. How did he go so fast?

A few minutes later, you arrived at a castle. Levi dismounted and glanced back at you.

"Come on," he began to walk away.

"Isn't this where the scout regiment resides," you jump off your horse and run up to his side. Your hand grazed his and your face went red. You linked your fingers behind your back as he looked down at your hand for a moment.

"Yes," he opens the door and stares into your eyes, "Welcome to the scout regiment, cadet."