The bitter chill of the fast approaching evening caused her to pull the fabric of her scouting hood closer in around her face, muttering a string of curses while she worked. Her fingers had long since lost feeling and with each gust of icy wind, she was having difficulty holding on to anything at this point. And just when I thought it couldn't get any colder. She mumbled to herself.
"What?" Oruo called out to her from behind.
She turned her head slightly to the side to inform him that she hadn't said anything just as another flurry of snow blasted through them, carrying her words into a separate direction.
Oruo's yelling only intensified when he noticed her mouth moving. "What did you say? I can't hear you!"
Before she could turn around fully to continue their screaming match, Eld interrupted. "She didn't say anything to you Oruo! She was talking to herself. Now shut it."
She watched as her childhood friend pulled his hood down further over his head and couldn't contain the snort of laughter that escaped her. He had removed the overly large cravat he had recently begun wearing and tied it around his head to keep his hood from flying off with each gust of wind. Even though it was smart, he looked like an old woman. She could hear Eld mutter that he looked ridiculous and laughed once more in agreement before turning around in her saddle.
They had been riding for almost a full day, and the sun was beginning to lower behind the large trees in the distance. Why they had been ordered to go on a supply run before winter had ended was beyond her, but so far as she and everyone else had anticipated, they had found absolutely nothing. Lucky for them, the freezing weather seemed to keep even the monstrous titans at bay considering the few they had encountered they easily avoided without needing to engage. Something she had expected the squadron of new recruits to have greatly appreciated. Erwin had decided this was as good a field training exercise as any and he was turning out to be right. But with a quick glance in their direction all she could see was a healthy mix of fluttering eyes and dozing faces.
The light of the day was nearly diminished and the previously innocent flurries they had encountered were now becoming more violent. Her face stung with each gust of ice that swirled past them. She was sure her cheeks would be sporting millions of tiny cuts by the time they reached the gate. If they reached the gate.
As if on cue a rider sped up beside their captain. She could see that he was yelling but with the intensity of the wind she could barely make out what he was saying before he continued onward. Levi slowed his speed and she craned her head to see what was coming up before them. From what she could make of the scene, it seemed like a small village- more of a cluster of buildings. Hunting outpost probably, she thought to herself. Either way, it was definitely abandoned and most likely had been for years. No one risked living out here anymore, even those who were desperate to flee the walls of their city wouldn't leave.
Their company slowed to a halt and Erwin came to a sliding stop in front of them; she joined the rest of her squad in mumbling a pathetic greeting although he hardly took notice of their lack of effort.
"We're splitting the new recruits between your squad and Mike's. We'll scope out the area and then you all can divide them up however you want. We're out of here by dawn."
Levi gave a halfhearted nod in reply before turning his attention back to the rest of them. "Oruo, Gunther- scope it out and take the house on the far left. Eld- get with Mike and see if they need you to pair up with any of them. Petra you're with me."
A range of 'sirs' followed in response to his orders before each of them went of in their separate directions; while she followed her captain. It wasn't incredibly surprising that he had kept her paired with him. She was the only female on his squad and had far more patience with new recruits than he did. She guessed he had kept her for that reason alone; but still, it wasn't often that their squad split up.
After picking a handful of the new recruits, they made their way to one of the houses near the middle of the grouping. Luckily, because the village was so far from any others it was well equipped with various sheds of different sizes to store the horses in for the night. She rubbed her steed's nose before letting a baby-faced girl half her size lead him away as she trudged through the deepening snow towards the house. The inside was desolate, meaning whoever had lived here before took every piece of furniture with them when they left. Which was admittedly a good sign. You don't have time to grab a bed when you're running for your life.
The monotone voice behind her shook her from her thoughts. "We'll put them in the main part of the house and take the back. I don't want to be bothered by them."
"Understood, Captain."
Bringing her hands up to her face she attempted to warm them as she walked the short distance to the back of the house. The worst part about an empty room was that there was nothing to keep the cold from getting in. She would have to find a way to make the one blanket she had brought along work. She listened as a group of tired footsteps filled into the house and couldn't help but smile when there was no sound after that. Which probably meant Levi had threatened to throw them all outside if they dared make a single sound. She was sure each of them had horrified looks etched on to their baby faces. So cute.
"Why are you smiling to yourself when you're in a room alone?"
"Hmm? Oh sorry, sir. I was just picturing you threatening to throw them all out into the cold if they make a sound."
"I threatened to feed them to the horses but close enough."
She giggled at that, knowing he was being completely serious. It was only then in the silence that she began to realize the situation and her face began to warm in response. She was alone with her captain. It wasn't as if they had never been alone before; in fact, they had been on many occasions. In the past she would go to his room on nights he was overwhelmed with paperwork and help to lighten the load. She had been nervous at first but over time they fell into a comfortable routine, and since no one else on the squad knew, it was never talked about. But here- in this tiny room- they were painfully alone with no paperwork to distract them; and everyone knew.
Clearing her throat she began to loosen the straps of her equipment, setting it down close by on the floor next to her. The titans wouldn't even notice their presence as long as they made sure to keep quiet, which would be easy since squad leader Hange had stayed at headquarters for this run. She released a breath of air she hadn't realised she was holding and nestled into the thin blanket each member of the survey corps was given. She looked over to see Levi staring at her with his usual blank expression and mumbled an apology before leaning back into the wall behind her.
Levi removed his gear and turned to find a spot on the floor. His face crinkled at the amount of dirt it was covered in before noticing Petra dozing quietly on what seemed to be the only semi clean patch in the room. Of course she would pick that spot. He grumbled to himself before electing to sit across the room from her instead. It wasn't as if sitting beside her was something terrible; in fact he couldn't deny that he wanted to. She was so lovely when she slept and she smelled nice. Nicer than any of their surroundings when they were stuck on pointless missions. But he couldn't. Not until he worked through whatever was going on in his fucked up brain.
It had been so easy to ignore her before. A lie. Well, easier than it was now. In truth, he had always found her attractive. She was the only woman to make him lose focus of what he was doing and stare like an idiot. Sure, that kind of stuff happened to other guys all the time; but not to him. Perky breast and a nice ass just wasn't enough to make him stop what he was doing or to lose sleep over. Her hair is what caught his eye the first time he saw her. It was longer then- much longer- down to her waist.
If it had been anyone else he would have thought it was ridiculous. Long hair in the survey corps was only good if you wanted a swift death; but she was still in training, and so he thought it was beautiful. Like the sun. He had never seen a color like it before and doubted he would ever see it again, which is why he stopped to look. And when she had turned around he wanted to curse her to hell because of course she would have the eyes to match. She was attractive- No, more than that. A goddamn goddess. And she had had the nerve to smile at him, as if she could read his damn mind. So of course he had marched off pissed that she would be so bold to exist and determined to never hear her voice because he knew it would sound like honey and be just as sweet. And he was right.
He hadn't expected to ever see her again; but when Erwin approached him about forming a squad and set a list of names out in front of him he had picked the first one. Surprise surprise- it was hers. But he hadn't known that then; he didn't find out until he showed up to a test run for her and Bozado after constant nagging from Erwin to "at least see them in action before making his choice".
He saw her hair before anything else and had to fight from turning his horse around at the sight of it, but he didn't because he wasn't that damn pathetic. Or at least he was trying not to be. He had wanted to change his mind- to send her home; but how could he deny her what was rightfully hers just because she had been born with unusually nice hair. Plus from what Erwin had told him during one of their meetings, she was determined to be in the survey corps. Something that had confused him for the longest time and still did. The only people who joined them had either seen some fucked up shit, done some fucked up shit, or were simply fucked up. He fell into all three of those categories and she- well she could go anywhere and be anything she wanted. And yet she was there, so he let her stay.
Over the years he had watched her fight and survive and she was still as beautiful and amazing as the day he met her. She could still go anywhere and be anything she wanted, but for some reason all she wanted was to serve by his side. He knew that, it was written all over her ridiculously lovely face. He saw it in her eyes every time she looked at him and heard it in her voice when she spoke, and he wondered how it would sound to hear her say his name. It'd be the end of him, that he was sure of. So he kept her at a distance to make sure he never would. But even that was becoming difficult. The nights she came to his room to help with pointless paperwork were the hardest, but even those were easier than fighting beside her on missions. It's not that he doubted her; her skill was undeniable and if he were a titan he'd be terrified of her. It was simply that if he could keep her from having to fight he would- he had to.
Which is why she was here with him in this dirty ass room now; so he could protect her, even if she didn't need it.