So, this is my first SnK/AoT fanfic, I'm still fairly new to this fandom, not even caught up with the manga yet. I guess this fic contains spoilers for the anime. To be honest, I don't even know what genre this is, but there's definitely going to be romance.

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Don't Look Back

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It was a fresh day in the early spring. Eren stepped out of a barrack and took a deep breath. Dew drops sparkled in the lush green grass and Eren could hear the distant chirping of birds. Light breeze caressed his face. He closed his eyes and smiled dreamily. What a wonderful day it was!

Wonderful day for killing titans, that is.

They were going on a practice run today. Levi's new squad didn't get a real chance to practice lately. It was time to stretch their legs. Eren was briefly reminded of the original Special Operations Squad, most of whose members he managed to get killed. His thoughts immediately clouded and he quickly pushed them aside. There was no time for regret right now. He must be at his best today, to prove that he isn't a useless piece of shit. If he can't harden his titan form to seal Wall Maria, there must be something he's good at, right?

A voice startled him. "Get moving, Jaeger. What are you waiting for? A knight in shining armour?" Levi said, completely expressionless, and yet his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Eren jumped up a little, "Sorry, sir, didn't see you there."

Levi frowned slightly, a wrinkle appearing between his eyebrows, "What did you say, brat?"

Eren realized his mistake. "Um, no, I didn't mean it like that, I mean, I wasn't implying that you were short and making fun of you for it, I ay ay ay, I'm gonna go get my horse," he finished lamely and hurried off. He could feel Levi's gaze penetrating him from the back.

Soon they were all gathered around. Jean, who was the last one to emerge from the barrack, still seemed groggy from sleep. Sasha had bread crumbs on her chin and a suspicious looking bulge in her pocket. She kept licking her lips as Connie was animatedly telling her a story. Mikasa was sitting upright on her horse, her raven hair gleaming in the morning sun. Armin and Kr - no, Histora, Eren corrected himself - were keeping together. Eren went to join his friends and in another couple of minutes, they departed. Riding further out into the plains, they spread out and took formation. Eren found himself behind Levi, Historia riding to his far right. He surveyed the surroundings, but he saw no immediate threat. He briefly let his eyes drop to Levi's well-rounded butt and averted his eyes a second later. What the hell, he though. These things kept happening to him lately. He looked down at his hands, clutching his reins. It wasn't his fault that his thoughts kept wandering off. Whenever there was a small pause in his train of thought, Levi popped right up. Probably because the guy was so short he fit anywhere. Eren snickered at himself.

He looked up to see everyone giving him questioning looks. Jean, the jerk, was the one to speak up, "Yes, because riding out to check for titans is so hilarious, isn't it."

It wasn't even a question. Eren knew Jean was only trying to pick up a fight, but Eren wouldn't stoop to his level. "No, I actually remembered what a ridiculous face you have. Now that is hilarious," he said the words before he could stop himself. Jean's jaw dropped and a slight blush appeared on his cheeks. He looked over to Mikasa to see if she heard the exchange. Her wide eyes were indeed looking in their direction, and Jean internally swore to take revenge on Eren.

That day, they encountered a total of one titan. It was a 5 meter class, with bulging eyes and a fat belly. Connie and Sasha served as decoys. Jean used his 3D gear and was on the titan's back in the blink of an eye. At the same time, Eren and Mikasa cut the joints on the titan's legs and it went tumbling down. Jean barely managed to cut its flesh enough to deliver the killing blow. The titan wailed and fell face down in a puddle (more like a pond, really) of mud.

And so did Jean.

He lost his footing and was sent flying. Before he realized where he landed, he did a duck and roll. He managed not to hurt himself, but the action also resulted in him getting a nice thick coat of mud. He tried to get up, but slipped and landed on his butt with a splash. Next to him, a titan was steaming and that is exactly what Jean was feeling like. Like a steaming pile of shit.

Eren and Armin laughed. The others were frozen, waiting for Jean's reaction. He was so embarrassed that he honestly felt like crying.

"So, are you just going to stay there?" Connie asked him, clearly suppressing laughter.

"Oh, man, this was awesome," Eren exclaimed, wiping the tears out of his eyes. "Leave him alone, it seems like he's enjoying it there," he said to Connie and then turned to Jean, "I understand that even you must take a bath once in a while, but now is not the time to do it," he taunted. Jean swore under his breath. He was going to strangle that little asshole.

"Pick yourself up," Mikasa calmly told him. Great, just great. How about he just stays here and dies instead.

"I heard mud is good for your skin. I suggest staying in there for a while longer." Eren just wouldn't drop it. Jean couldn't take it anymore. He jumped to his feet, this time successfully staying upright and launched himself on Eren. "Come here, you little piece of shit!"

"Hey, I'm not the one who smells like shit!"

"Enough," Levi finally stepped in, "The first one to throw a punch will clean the toilets with a toothbrush for a week."

That stopped both of the offending boys dead in tracks. They settled for glaring at each other.

"You were terrible," Levi said. Jean was sure that the redness of his face could be seen even through the layer of mud. "You were all terrible," Levi continued, turning to the others. "All of you have talents; otherwise you wouldn't be here right now. But you are terrible as a team. Eren and Mikasa had a plan of their own, while Jean was playing along with Sasha and Connie. And Armin and Historia, what exactly were you doing? Just because you are nobility, doesn't mean you can act like a princess, Historia."

"Well, what were you doing?" Sasha couldn't stop herself. "You could've lent us a hand, too."

"He was testing us," Armin said in a small voice. His head was bowed. When he realized everyone was listening to him, he started speaking louder, more sure of himself now, "He hasn't seen us work as a group, as a squad yet. We were mere recruits. Now we are the special squad assigned to protect Eren and Historia. If we can't take down one titan by ourselves, how are we supposed to fulfill our ultimate task?"

Levi gave a curt nod, "Sasha, no dinner for you. Learn to respect your superiors." This earned him a tearful whine, but he ignored it. "Jean," Levi paused, scrunching up his nose in disgust, "Clean yourself up. And Eren, you're on the cleaning duty until I say you aren't anymore. And I'll want to see you after you're done tonight. Come on, now, we've been out here for too long already. It's sheer luck that we haven't all been eaten because of your stupidity."

"But I didn't do anything! This is so not fair!" Eren complained loudly, but Levi ignored him. He got on his horse and set off. They were done for today.

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Well, that was that. Please let me know what you think and feel free to point out any inaccuracies (do they have toothbrushes?). Stay tuned for another chapter!